Hyderabad: The flood situation in Andhra Pradesh turned alarming on Friday night as Kurnool town was in danger of being submerged in the backwaters of the Srisailam dam due to unprecedented inflows.
Authorities said they are monitoring the situation closely and that efforts are under way on a war-footing to evacuate people from Kurnool town as the water level in Srisailam dam was rising dangerously.
State Minister for Revenue and Rehabilitation Dhramana Prasada Rao told reporters on Friday night that the water level had already crossed the full reservoir level of 885 feet and could go up to 892-893 feet by 11 p.m. 'We are taking all steps to minimise the loss of life by evacuating people from the town by using all resources at our disposal,' the minister said while terming the situation serious.
Thousands of people in Kurnool and Mantralayam towns and dozens of adjoining villages were already trapped in flood waters. Six helicopters that were pressed into service could not take up full-fledged rescue operations due to bad weather.
Chief Minister K. Rosaiah, who held an all-party meeting to review the situation, said he along with other senior ministers and top officials would spend the night in the state secretariat to monitor the situation.
As the huge outflows from Srisailam and Nagarjunsagar dams have threatened to inundate Vijayawada city and several low-lying villages in Krishna district, authorities have begun evacuation of people. 'We are also using police forces to forcibly evacuate people from these areas,' said Prasada Rao.
He said 300 army personnel and jawans of the Disaster Management Response Force had reached the state with boats and necessary material but would be able to join rescue and relief operations only on Saturday morning.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Month after YSR's death, uncertainty persists in Andhra
Hyderabad: One month after the helicopter crash that killed chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Andhra Pradesh continues to be in a limbo -- as investigators struggle for clues, political confusion also persists with the ruling Congress split on the issue of anointing his son Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy as political successor.
The reasons for the September 2 crash, which plunged the state into shock and triggered chaos in the ruling party, remains a mystery though four simultaneous probes were ordered by the state and central governments.
Though the preliminary investigations have prima facie indicated that bad weather led to the crash on a hillock in the dense Nallamalla forests in Kurnool district, none of the agencies probing the crash have so far come out with their findings.
YSR, as the chief minister was popularly known, his special secretary, chief security officer and two pilots were killed that fateful morning, an hour after the Bell 430 chopper took off from Hyderabad for Chittoor district.
The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Crime Investigation Department (CID) of state police, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as well as a two-member panel formed by the state government are still trying to determine if it was human error or a technical failure.
Officials engaged in the four parallel inquiries are looking into all angles, including sabotage, and trying to find answers to the many questions that continue to haunt -- was a weather warning issued, was the chopper was properly checked, was there a lapse in responding to distress calls from the crew?
The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), or black box, which could help the investigators find an answer to almost all questions, is yet to be decoded. As it was found in a damaged condition and it was difficult to decode it in India, the DGCA has sent it to the US.
While the investigators work to find the cause of the crash, the ruling party is struggling to meet the challenges thrown by the sudden death of YSR.
Though the demand for making YSR's son Jagan the successor was raised by his supporters even before the Chief Minister was laid to rest in his native Kadapa district, the party does not appear keen to give in.
Resignation threats by some ministers and legislators have not worked either and it seems the leadership is likely to continue with K. Rosaiah as the chief minister. The 77-year-old, who is also the finance minister, had taken oath as chief minister on Sep 3 and he is now being supported by some senior leaders.
Jagan visited the crash site on Sep 25 to offer floral tributes to his father. He later addressed a massive public meeting, where he dropped hints that he was ready to take up the mantle. This did not go unnoticed in New Delhi.
In his death, YSR, who faced no opposition from his detractors within the party for five years, has left the party vertically divided. Even the reported deaths of 60 people due to shock after his death have triggered a bitter war of words between Jagan's supporters and opponents.
While ministers loyal to YSR and Jagan claim that 60 people either committed suicide or died of shock after learning about his death in the crash, their rivals like Rajya Sabha member V. Hanumantha Rao have termed the claims as bogus.
The reasons for the September 2 crash, which plunged the state into shock and triggered chaos in the ruling party, remains a mystery though four simultaneous probes were ordered by the state and central governments.
Though the preliminary investigations have prima facie indicated that bad weather led to the crash on a hillock in the dense Nallamalla forests in Kurnool district, none of the agencies probing the crash have so far come out with their findings.
YSR, as the chief minister was popularly known, his special secretary, chief security officer and two pilots were killed that fateful morning, an hour after the Bell 430 chopper took off from Hyderabad for Chittoor district.
The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Crime Investigation Department (CID) of state police, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as well as a two-member panel formed by the state government are still trying to determine if it was human error or a technical failure.
Officials engaged in the four parallel inquiries are looking into all angles, including sabotage, and trying to find answers to the many questions that continue to haunt -- was a weather warning issued, was the chopper was properly checked, was there a lapse in responding to distress calls from the crew?
The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), or black box, which could help the investigators find an answer to almost all questions, is yet to be decoded. As it was found in a damaged condition and it was difficult to decode it in India, the DGCA has sent it to the US.
While the investigators work to find the cause of the crash, the ruling party is struggling to meet the challenges thrown by the sudden death of YSR.
Though the demand for making YSR's son Jagan the successor was raised by his supporters even before the Chief Minister was laid to rest in his native Kadapa district, the party does not appear keen to give in.
Resignation threats by some ministers and legislators have not worked either and it seems the leadership is likely to continue with K. Rosaiah as the chief minister. The 77-year-old, who is also the finance minister, had taken oath as chief minister on Sep 3 and he is now being supported by some senior leaders.
Jagan visited the crash site on Sep 25 to offer floral tributes to his father. He later addressed a massive public meeting, where he dropped hints that he was ready to take up the mantle. This did not go unnoticed in New Delhi.
In his death, YSR, who faced no opposition from his detractors within the party for five years, has left the party vertically divided. Even the reported deaths of 60 people due to shock after his death have triggered a bitter war of words between Jagan's supporters and opponents.
While ministers loyal to YSR and Jagan claim that 60 people either committed suicide or died of shock after learning about his death in the crash, their rivals like Rajya Sabha member V. Hanumantha Rao have termed the claims as bogus.
TDP in-charges for all 294 Assembly segments
HYDERABAD: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu has said that he would appoint incharges for all the 294 Assembly segments soon.
In an interaction with the party workers at the NTR Bhavan today, Naidu elicited the opinions of party workers on the implementation of party activities in their respective villages. Party workers informed Naidu that they were unable to carry out party activities as expected as there were no incharges. Responding to this, Naidu said that segment-wise incharges would be appointed soon.
Naidu called upon party workers to spearhead agitations in all the villages against the irregularities in NREGP.
In an interaction with the party workers at the NTR Bhavan today, Naidu elicited the opinions of party workers on the implementation of party activities in their respective villages. Party workers informed Naidu that they were unable to carry out party activities as expected as there were no incharges. Responding to this, Naidu said that segment-wise incharges would be appointed soon.
Naidu called upon party workers to spearhead agitations in all the villages against the irregularities in NREGP.
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