Flood Hits Andhara Pradesh , Karnataka

Pintu

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Heavy Rain lashing out in Andhara Pradesh and Karnataka , causing flood in both the states.........................

Heavy rain lashes Andhra Pradesh, six killed - India - NEWS - The Times of India

Heavy rain lashes Andhra Pradesh, six killed
IANS 1 October 2009, 12:35pm IST

HYDERABAD: Heavy rain lashed Andhra Pradesh killing six people, inundating several villages, damaging crops and disrupting transport and
communication links, officials said Thursday.

The heavy rain, which has been incessant since Wednesday, was due to a low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal. It continued to lash several parts of the state, throwing normal life out of gear.

Several villages in Mahabubnagar and Kurnool districts were inundated as rivulets, streams and tanks were overflowing. Officials said at least 10 tanks in Mahabubnagar district had breached their banks.

Two people drowned in a rivulet in Alwaynpalli village near Jadcherla town in Mahabubnagar district, about 120 km from here. Three other people were washed away in two different incidents in the same district, while one person died due to lightning in Karimnagar district, about 150 km from here.

An Indian Air Force helicopter on Wednesday rescued five students caught in flood waters in Mahabubnagar district.

Three villages in Mahabubnagar were cut off from the rest of the district. Revenue officials have begun efforts to rescue people stranded in the low-lying areas.

Kurnool town, about 250 km from here, and dozens of villages in Kurnool district were also inundated. In some of the affected areas in Kurnool town people were sitting on rooftops waiting for help.

Authorities in Kurnool district have evacuated about 12,000 people and have opened 21 relief camps.

The heavy rain also damaged roads, breaking the transport link to several villages. Electricity and communication lines were also damaged.

Chief Minister K Rosaiah held a high-level meeting here Thursday morning to review the situation. He directed officials to take measures to evacuate people from low-lying areas.

Since the weather office has warned of more rain over the next two days, especially in coastal Andhra and Telangana regions, the chief minister asked the district collector and other officials to be on high alert.
 

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More than 130 killed as heavy rains lash southern India - Summary : Nature Environment

More than 130 killed as heavy rains lash southern India - Summary



Posted : Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:17:14 GMT
By : dpa

New Delhi - More than 130 people were killed as torrential rains led to house collapses and flash floods in the southern Indian states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, officials and news reports said Friday. Army boats and helicopters were deployed to rescue hundreds of marooned people, the IANS news agency reported.

At least 104 deaths were reported from six north Karnataka districts while 26 people had died in Andhra Pradesh since Tuesday, according to the state governments' disaster management units.

The incessant rain led to flooding of dams and rivers. Several towns and villages across the two states were inundated and crops devastated.

Hundreds of people trapped by the floodwaters were stranded on rooftops waiting to be rescued. "Over 40,000 houses have been damaged," an official at the Karnataka Revenue Ministry said.

Transport and communication links were snapped in several places.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa held an emergency meeting with senior civil, military and police officials in the state capital, Bangalore, to plan rescue and relief operations.

In Andhra Pradesh's capital, Hyderabad, Chief Minister K Rosaiah said the situation was grim.

Both state administrations had called in the army to assist in rescue operations and to airdrop drinking water and food.

People living in low-lying, flood-prone areas were being shifted to temporary camps in safer places.

India's monsoon season usually brings rains from June and withdraws by the end of September. The weather office said the rains over southern India were being caused by a depression in the Bay of Bengal and heavy cloud formations over the Arabian Sea.

The Meteorological Department warned of further heavy showers in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh over the next 24 hours.

More than 1,200 people have died across 19 of India's 28 states during the monsoon rains this year.
 

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Rain, flood fury claims 227 lives in India

IANS
Rain, flood fury claims 227 lives in India

2009-10-03 21:00:00

/Hyderabad/Mumbai, Oct 3 (IANS) At least 227 people were killed after the receding monsoon unleashed its fury with record-breaking rain and floods in parts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharshtra, officials said.

The toll in Karnataka since Wednesday due to the rain, caused by a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal, was put at 156, while in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh there were 50 deaths and 21 deaths in Maharashtra.

The flood situation in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka showed signs of improvement with water level starting to recede Saturday after three days of torrential rain.

Rescue and relief operations by army helicopters, boats and teams from the National Disaster Relief Force were continuing in the two states.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K. Rosaiah told reporters in Hyderabad that the flood waters in the worst-hit Kurnool were receding slowly.

This came as a relief to the 500,000 people as Kurnool town, about 250 km from Hyderabad, was facing the threat of complete submergence since Friday evening due to massive floods in the Krishna river and its tributaries.

However, authorities in Krishna and Guntur districts remained on high alert in view of huge inflows reaching Prakasam Barrage near Vijayawada city.

In Karnataka too, flood waters in the northern districts were receding and officials were confident of rescuing all marooned people by late Saturday.

'Almost all marooned people have been rescued. Over 150,000 people are taking shelter in 583 relief camps,' H.V. Parashwanath, secretary of Karnataka Disaster Management Authority, told IANS in Bangalore.

'More than 350 villages were affected by the rain and subsequent floods, worst since 1972 in north Karnataka,' Parashwanath added.

Eight helicopters, 40 boats and a 105-member team of the National Disaster Relief Force were taking part in the rescue and relief operations.

Over 20,000 food packets were airdropped for the marooned people, he said.

The water level at the Srisailam dam across the Krishna river in Andhra Pradesh was 10 feet above its full reservoir level of 885 feet but the declining levels in the Tungabhadra and Handri rivers provided some relief to Kurnool town.

Sixteen helicopters and 600 army personnel besides Disaster Management Response Force and state police had taken up rescue and relief operations. Rosaiah said over 200,000 food and water sachets were being air dropped in the affected districts.

Boats and army personnel have also been pressed into service in Vijayawada city and several villages in Krishna district facing the danger of inundation due to heavy inflows in Prakasam barrage.

Rescue workers found 16 bodies at a few places in Kurnool and Mahabubnagar. Commissioner, disaster management, Dinesh Kumar said eight deaths each were reported from Mahabubnagar and Kurnool districts. These deaths are in addition to 26 people reported dead till Friday.

The worst floods in the region in 100 years have left a trail of destruction, rendering over 200,000 homeless in Kurnool, Mahabubnagar, Guntur and Krishna districts and damaging standing crops over a vast area.

Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa undertook an aerial survey of the affected areas. He said the government would bear the cost of building partially or fully damaged houses.

Meteorological officials told IANS in Bangalore that while rain would abate in north Karnataka, coastal Karnataka districts of Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada was receiving heavy rain.

In Maharashtra at least 19 people were killed in 24 hours till Saturday evening, state Chief Secretary Johny Joseph said, adding that at least 72 people were also rescued from various parts of the state in the same period. Two people were earlier killed in Chandrapur.

In the 48 hours to Saturday evening, Vengurla in Ratnagiri district recorded 442 mm of rain - the highest in over three decades, followed by Kudal which recorded 422 mm, a district oiffial said.

Life has been thrown out of gear since Thursday with torrential rain in the entire southern Konkan belt comprising Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts.

The Moti lake in the centre of Sawantwadi town overflowed for the first time in over a century and Sindhudurg district, bordering Goa, has recorded over 370 mm of rain in the past two days, said a district official.

Most major towns and villages in the coastal areas have been under two to three feet of flood water as local rivers swelled with the heavy rain.

Traffic on the Mumbai-Goa highway came to a standstill since early Saturday, stranding several thousands of tourists on both sides and en route.

Nearly 100 people traveling in three luxury tourist buses spent Friday night on the roofs of their vehicles as flood water entered the vehicles on the Mumbai-Goa highway.

Ratnagiri district officials finally managed to put a team in place and rescued them Saturday afternoon.

Train operations were badly hit on the Konkan Railway that connects Mumbai with Kerala on the west coastal route.

Electricity and telecommunication lines have been severely hit in most areas, hampering relief and rescue operations.

Meanwhile, the met department has forecast heavy rain and thundershowers over Mumbai and parts of the Konkan in the next 48 hours to Monday.

Six sub-districts in three districts were placed on high alert for floods for the next 24 hours till Sunday.
 

ppgj

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the northern districts of karnataka are drought prone. surprising they are hit with this fury. such is nature ever unpredictable. sad to see so many deaths in AP and karnataka.
 

Quickgun Murugan

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Most part of the year, all these areas are in drought and now when there is surplus, there is nothing to tap these water :thumbs_thmbdn:
 

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http://www.ptinews.com/news/314868_Sonia-conducts-aerial-survey-of-flood-hit-K-taka-dist


Sonia conducts aerial survey of flood-hit K'taka dist


STAFF WRITER 17:10 HRS IST

Bellary (Karnataka), Oct 5 (PTI) Congress president Sonia Gandhi today conducted an aerial survey of the flood-ravaged Bellary district.

Gandhi, accompanied by Home Minister P Chidambaram and Union Minister for Law and Justice M Veerappa Moily arrived at Jindal airport here in a special flight from Hyderabad. She then left for Bellary in a helicopter to conduct the survey.

She was accompanied by Union Minister for Labour and Employment Mallikarjun Kharge, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, Home Minister V S Acharya and state party president R V Deshpande.

After the survey, she left for Aurangabad.

Deshpande later told reporters that the state unit of the Congress had submitted a memorandum to Gandhi, urging the Centre to release a special relief package for flood-hit Karnataka and immediately dispatch a team to assess the situation.
 

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India floods leave 1.5 million homeless: officials

India floods leave 1.5 million homeless: officials
INDIA - 5 OCTOBER 2009

BANGALORE, India — Devastating floods that killed more than 230 people in southern India have left close to 1.5 million others homeless, officials said Monday.

The floods, triggered by days of torrential rain, have inundated swathes of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra states, causing mass evacuations and leaving hundreds of thousands dependent on relief camps.

The death toll on Monday stood at 233, with 170 killed in Karnataka, 37 in Andhra Pradesh and 26 in Maharashtra.

With the rains showing signs of easing, officials said relief efforts were now focused on providing shelter to survivors whose homes had been wiped out.

In Karnataka, one million people were homeless, of which more than 350,000 people had taken shelter in 1,200 relief camps in the worst-hit northern districts, H.V. Parashwanath, secretary of the state's disaster monitoring agency, told AFP.

"We have commenced a survey to identify the remaining homeless for resettling and rehabilitation," he said.

At least 200,000 homes were destroyed in Karnataka and almost 1,500 villages were partially or completely submerged, Parashwanath added.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K. Rosaiah said around 475,000 people had been evacuated from their homes.

Water discharged from the river Krishna threatened to engulf parts of the city of Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, which was entirely cut off from the state capital Hyderabad after police closed the main road connecting the two.

Road transportation and train services were also hit.

The head of India's Congress Party Sonia Gandhi and Home Minister P. Chidambaram made an inspection flight over the affected areas in both states on Monday.

In Maharashtra, S.C. Mohanty, head of the state's disaster management cell, said the situation was now "close to normal," after thousands had been evacuated from southern coastal areas.




Source: AFP
 

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Over 270 killed in India floods
INDIA- 5 OCTOBER 2009

NEW DELHI, India -- The number of dead in devastating floods triggered by torrential rains in India has risen to at least 271, and about a million people have fled their homes, officials said Monday.

At least 192 people have died in the southern state of Karnataka, its disaster-management secretary H.V. Parshwanath told CNN.

More than 450,000 people there have been housed in 1,330 relief camps as authorities completed rescue operations in most of the flooded zones in the state, he said.

"The focus is now mainly on relief," Parshwanath said, adding that rains have now eased in Karnataka.

In neighboring Andhra Pradesh, authorities put the death toll at 51. Some 531,000 people have been evacuated to safety, with more half of them now sheltering in relief camps, said Dinesh Kumar, the commissioner of the state's disaster-monitoring department.

India has deployed the military to help with relief and rescue in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

More than a dozen teams of naval divers have been sent to the two flood-hit states, the country's defense ministry said.

Air force planes and helicopters have also been dropping food packets in the submerged regions.

The military has been able to rescue 1,336 people so far, it added.

Flood waters were now receding in two of the five worst hit districts of Andhra Pradesh, disaster official Kumar said.

But floodwaters from a local river might submerge the remaining three, he warned.

Flooding also killed at least 25 people in Maharashtra state, officials said. Three others died because of lightning strikes, said S.C. Mohanty, director of Maharashtra's disaster-management department.

About 3,000 people have been displaced because of flooding, he told CNN. Thousands of people die each year in India during seasonal monsoon rains.

More than 1,100 had been killed in monsoon-triggered flooding in different parts of the country as of last month, according to the disaster-management division of the federal home ministry.


Source: CNN
 

prahladh

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I just gave the money I saved for DFI fund to flood victims. Just bought Rs.2000 worth medicines/food/water. Planning for more.
 

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Floods batter Andhra, Karnataka

Torrential rains left a trail of death and destruction in 15 districts of Karnataka damaging over two lakh houses in 1,467 villages subsided since Sunday.

According to official figures, the floods have so far claimed 49 lives in five districts. Kurnool district accounted for 26 deaths while 17 people died in Mahbubnagar. The remaining deaths were reported from the districts of Krishna (three), Nalgonda (two) and Guntur (one).

About 500 villages were inundated by the floods that impacted over 1.8 million people in five districts. About 70,000 houses were damaged in five districts while over 400,000 people were rendered homeless.
Officials are describing it as the worst flood in Krishna river in 100 years.
 

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Flood water recedes, new worries surface - India - The Times of India

Flood water recedes, new worries surface
TNN 7 October 2009, 02:31am IST

Flood water began trickling away and aid started trickling into the devastated areas of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday, while authorities began talking about accelerating rehabilitation and rescue work.

Hungry and homeless, and vulnerable to deadly diseases, the flood victims woke up to a harsh reality: the long struggle to rebuild their homes and lives. Only two days after flood water receded, over 120 people of Nadineeralagi village in Savanur taluk, Haveri district, have taken ill after drinking unhygienic water. The Karnataka and AP governments, on their part, are scrambling to provide shelter, food and basic supplies to the lakhs of victims.

In Karnataka, the death roll rose to 206 with the recovery of 12 bodies. Hundreds of relief workers, supported by defence personnel, battled all odds to rush relief. Chief minister B S Yeddyurappa continued to camp in the affected areas, monitoring and overseeing relief and rescue work. The Karnataka government estimates the loss to be around Rs 16,500 crore.

Some 2.5 lakh houses have either collapsed or have been damaged; 1.8 crore people in 1,490 villages have been affected. The government has demanded Rs 16,500 crore from the Centre for rehabilitation.
In Andhra Pradesh, the toll mounted to 63 as outflow from the Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar projects reduced gradually. About 3.6 lakh flood victims have taken shelter in 277 relief camps.
 

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Andhra ignored dam warning - India - The Times of India

Andhra ignored dam warning
Pradeep Thakur, TNN 7 October 2009, 01:14am IST

NEW DELHI: The flooding of Kurnool could have been averted had successive state governments in Andhra Pradesh not avoided repeated reminders of the Central Water Commission (CWC) on doubling the spillway capacity of the Srisailam dam.

Since 1990, CWC had advised the state government twice to increase the spillway capacity of the reservoir on Krishna river from the originally set 13.5 lakh cusecs to 25 lakh cusecs in order to avoid flash floods.

CWC chairman A K Bajaj told TOI on Tuesday that while the agency had told state authorities sometime in 1990 to increase the spillway capacity of the dam from 13.5 lakh cusecs to 19 lakh cusecs, another detailed study was carried out in 2005 when officials found that the design of the dam allowed the capacity to be increased to 25 lakh cusecs.

"We had conveyed to the state government to increase the capacity and it would have taken them not more than six months to a year to carry out the required modification," Bajaj said.

"At least Kurnool and many upstream areas could have been saved from being inundated. Only the downstream areas, at worse, could have got affected," Bajaj said.

Inflows into Krishna at Srisailam had increased to more than 25 lakh cusecs after October 2 when Karnataka released fresh waters from Almatti dam to prevent submergence of its own towns.

Bajaj said CWC would soon have a meeting with state authorities and the 2005 report will be taken up for discussion. He said though the state alone could decide when to carry out modification in the dam, CWC would emphasise on increasing the probable maximum flood capacity of Srisailam reservoir.
 

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India?s worst flood: Is this climate change?- Hindustan Times

India’s worst flood: Is this climate change?

Praveen Donthi and Aurangzeb Naqshbandi, Hindustan Times
Email Author
Vijayawada/New Delhi, October 07, 2009

First Published: 01:01 IST(7/10/2009)
Last Updated: 02:21 IST(7/10/2009)

The catastrophe was unprecedented — flooding across Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh was caused by unpredictable rainfall up to 600 per cent higher than normal, in a river basin that is the driest in the country.

As water levels receded on Tuesday after 280 deaths, and authorities scrambled to reach aid to a region where some 2.5 lakh homes are damaged, and millions affected, experts wonder if we are witnessing a manifestation of climate change.

Climate change is the alteration in weather patterns, especially increases in temperature and storm activity.

Thousands rushed to safety, trying to avoid death — and, in some areas, crocodiles. But others refused to leave.

“I stayed back only because of my two buffaloes,” said G. Raghavulu (35), an agricultural labourer from Pamurlanka village in Andhra Pradesh.

Three days of unprecedented rainfall in the Krishna and Godavari river basins. Some 700 mm over a week.

“About 400 mm of rain took place in three days. This has never happened before in India Meteorological Department (IMD) records,” S.P. Kakran, senior official in the ministry of water resources, told HT. The IMD has measured rain since 1901.

“It was up to 600 per cent higher than average, up to 800 per cent higher in a few districts,” said Dr Santosh Kumar of the home ministry’s National Institute of Disaster Management.

“Krishna and Godavari basins are considered to be the safest compared to the Ganga and Brahmaputra basins,” Kumar said. “This should be studied, whether there is a link between this and climate change.”

Hundreds of thousands of people have been moved to 1,500-odd relief camps.

Rescuers wage a doughty battle. “About 1,000 specialised teams of rescuers in over 300 motorised boats have been in the region since October 2,” said K.M. Singh, head of the National Disaster Response Force that is spearheading the rescue operations.
 

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http://www.ptinews.com/news/318418_Major-breach-in-Krishna-canal--toll-in-AP--KTK-rises-to-269


A man sits atop his thatch house in a flood affected
village in Andhra Pradesh. PTI Photo

Major breach in Krishna canal; toll in AP, KTK rises to 269

STAFF WRITER 14:10 HRS IST

Vijayawada/Bangalore, Oct 7 (PTI) A major breach in the embankment of a Krishna river canal has left low lying areas of a town and many villages in Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district inundated even as the toll due to the heavy floods climbed to 269 in the state and in Karnataka today.

Low-lying areas in Repalle town and 20 adjoining villages in Guntur district were submerged in water following the breach in right embankment of the canal, irrigation authorities said.

"We cannot say that the problem is over, water is receding and we need to be alert today also," Rajiv Sharma, Special Officer for Flood Relief works, said in Vijayawada.

"The toll in Andhra Pradesh stands at 63 and water is receding fast.Since the outflow at Prakasam barrage at Vijayawada is now 7.8 lakh cusecs against 10.7 lakh cusecs yesterday, there is definite improvement," Relief Commissioner Dinesh Kumar told PTI.
 

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http://www.ptinews.com/news/319731_UNICEF-to-support-relief-and-rescue-work

UNICEF to support relief and rescue work


STAFF WRITER 22:15 HRS IST

New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) UNICEF will support relief and rescue operations in Andhra Pradesh and Raichur in Karnataka, worst affected by the floods along with the state government and NGOs.

"Based on discussion with the Relief Commissioners, UNICEF has zeroed in Mahbubnagar and Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh and Raichur in Karnataka to support the relief operations," the UN agency said in a statement.

It said UNICEF has used its pre-positioned supplies in Andhra Pradesh and distributed 10,000 collapsible jerry cans and 25 water tanks to the worst affected district of Mahbubnagar.

"UNICEF is expected to receive a formal request from Andhra Pradesh government for technical assistance through water engineers and provision of some supplies, including halogen tablets, bleaching powder, mats, blankets and teaching and learning materials for children," the statement said.
 

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Floods hit crops on 3-lakh hectare

Floods hit crops on 3-lakh hectare

Press Trust of India
Posted: Thursday, Oct 08, 2009 at 0357 hrs IST
Updated: Thursday, Oct 08, 2009 at 0357 hrs IST

New Delhi: Production of pulses and oilseeds could be affected adversely as crops in at least three lakh hectares of area have been hit by floods in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and heavy rains in Maharashtra.

“Two lakh hectare area have been affected in Andhra Pradesh and one lakh hectare in Maharashtra,” agriculture commissioner N B Singh told reporters here on Wednesday, adding that report from Karnataka is yet to be received.

The commissioner said that oilseeds, pulses, cotton and maize are most affected as floods have hit dry areas.

Asked if the damage to pulses, particularly to arhar, could offset the increased area under the crops during kharif 2009, he said “to some extent. We are more concerned about pulses.”

The news of pulses crop being hit comes even as their prices have gone sky high in the past couple of months. However, the area under pulses have increased in the kharif season offer some solace that there could be price stability.

Experts said with the bad news of crops being hit, it could be back to square one on price front.

The Central team will visit the affected areas once flood water recedes, Singh said.

In Andhra Pradesh, crops which have been affected due to floods are paddy, groundnut, cotton, maize and chilli, while 60,000 hectares land with newly sown jowar have been impacted in Maharashtra.

He said no damage has taken place in sugarcane growing areas.

On the positive side of the recent rainfall, he said the reservoir level in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh has improved, which will help the rabi crop.
 

Pintu

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Andhra to see 35% fall in paddy output

Andhra to see 35% fall in paddy output
C H Prashanth Reddy / Hyderabad October 08, 2009, 0:36 IST

Prices of foodgrain, particularly of rice, are likely to rise sharply across India and especially in Andhra Pradesh. The state, a major producer of paddy in the country, is going to witness a 35 per cent fall in the output during the current kharif season.

According to state agriculture minister N Raghuveera Reddy, the paddy output will not be more than 5.5 million tonnes during this kharif. This is nearly 2.9 million tonnes less than the state’s 2008 kharif output of 8.38 million tonnes. Helped by bountiful rainfall since 2005, Andhra Pradesh has emerged as the third largest producer of foodgrain in the country. Hence, the steep fall in the state’s foodgrain production could as well affect food prices across the country.

A severe drought, considered to be the worst in 50 years, accompanied by devastating floods in the Krishna river basin has shattered Andhra’s agricultural operations. The state had received deficit rainfall during the south-west monsoon and 981 of the total 1,128 mandals have been declared drought-hit. The crop area has declined 32 per cent to 5.3 million hectares compared with the kharif season’s normal sown area of 7.9 million hectares. Even while the government started implementing drought-relief measures, unprecedented floods in the Krishna river basin last week submerged the standing crops in Kurnool, Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda, Krishna and Guntur districts. Crops in the districts of Rangareddy, Srikakulam and Kadapa have also been damaged in the torrential rain.

Reddy said that floods had damaged standing crops in 241,000 hectares resulting in a production loss of 900,000 tonnes of foodgrain valued at Rs 860 crore. The crops damaged include rice, cotton, groundnut, sunflower, castor and pulses. In addition, horticulture crops including banana, chilli and vegetables were also damaged.

In the case of vegetables, the impact of floods was immediately felt in the state capital. The prices of many vegetables have doubled. Tomato, which was sold at about Rs 10 a kg is now priced at Rs 20. The price of beans has shot up from Rs 30 to Rs 60 a kg, while lady’s finger and onions witnessed a moderate rise by Rs 4 and Rs 2 a kg.

The price of fine quality rice in the state capital has already shot up by 40 per cent to Rs 35 a kg from around Rs 25 a kg during this time last year. Similarly, the price of pigeon pea (tur dal) has gone up from Rs 56 last year to Rs 90 a kg at present. With 60,000 acres of pigeon pea damaged in Guntur district itself, a further rise in price is not ruled out.

The only solace for the state from the recent floods is that water in all its major reservoirs across the Krishna river is up to the full storage level. This is likely to give a boost to agricultural operations during the ensuing rabi season and to a certain extent offset the loss in production incurred during the kharif season.
 

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Karnataka: CM, mantris take to the streets for flood relief fund - India - The Times of India

Karnataka: CM, mantris take to the streets for flood relief fund
A T Subrahmanya, TNN 8 October 2009, 04:39am IST

BANGALORE: It took devastating floods to bring them onto Bangalore's streets. The entire government machinery — from city MLAs, MPs to top police brass, — was led by chief minister B S Yeddyurappa as they mobilized funds for victims in the flood-ravaged districts of Karnataka on Wednesday.

Yeddyurappa and some cabinet colleagues went on a padayatra seeking donations from the public in Chickpet, one of Bangalore's major commercial hubs. The response was overwhelming and funds poured in with people thronging the narrow lanes. At the end of the day, the collection was an impressive Rs 12.5 crore through cheques and demand drafts. The cash is yet to be counted.

Yeddyurappa, Bangalore South MP H N Ananth Kumar and cabinet ministers including V S Acharya, Shobha Karandlaje and Katta Subramanya Naidu moved slowly through the narrow streets in an open jeep.

While senior ministers were in the jeep, his junior colleagues moved around with collection boxes and walked along, asking for donations. People came out to see this unusual spectacle. Several traders, merchants and shopkeepers and several associations readily donated money.

Several cloth merchants and traders packed new clothes in sacks and handed them over to the ministers. Almost every other trader of Balepet seemed to have a sack to donate.

Yeddyurappa said there would be more padayatra in the next two days and the government would also collect money in district centres.
 

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Doctors reach out to the flood-hit - Mumbai - City - The Times of India

Doctors reach out to the flood-hit

Pratibha Masand, TNN 9 October 2009, 02:50am IST

MUMBAI: The regions of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and the border districts of Maharashtra that were affected by floods are now going to get some help from doctors of Mumbai. Members of Doctors For You, a social organisation, are preparing to go to flood-hit areas in batches. They are collecting essentials for those who have lost everything due to the natural calamity.

"We are waiting for a report from the flood-hit areas to know how many doctors are required in which districts. We are planning to start sending doctors to the areas within a week. A truckful of relief material has already been sent to Karnataka last week. Now, we are collecting more,'' said Dr Puneet Sharma, a member of Doctors For You.

The organisation that was formed three years ago had also helped during last year's Bihar flood, contributing 18 tonnes of relief material and sending 110 doctors to various relief camps.

"Last year, some people had given tattered clothes which were unfit for use. One has to realise that when we help the people in need, it should be whole-hearted and not to remove waste material from home. When calamity strikes, the rich and poor are equally affected,'' said a doctor.

"As of now, any kind of contribution is welcome. We need medical and paramedical volunteers for a minimum period of a week. Along with clothes, ration, general medicines, bedsheets, blankets, cooking and water storage utensils, we also need every day things like baby milk powder, tarpauline and plastic sheets, ropes, lanterns, candles, matchbox, torch and batteries. And of course, monetary donations are much more helpful in the sense that we would not have to transport the money at least,'' said Dr Sharma.

In order to contribute in any way, one could visit www.doctorsforyou.org.
 

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PM announces Rs 1,000cr for flood-hit Andhra - India - The Times of India

PM announces Rs 1,000cr for flood-hit Andhra

IANS 9 October 2009, 08:01pm IST

HYDERABAD: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday announced Rs.1,000 crore central assistance to Andhra Pradesh for relief and rehabilitation in flood-hit areas.

Addressing a news conference here after making an aerial survey of flood-affected Krishna and Guntur districts, the prime minister assured the state government that money would not be a constraint for relief and rehabilitation measures and that all resources would be provided.

An amount of Rs.1,000 crore is straightway being provided as advance to the state so that work, relief and rehabilitation can move forward, he said.

"Wherever such calamities take place the central government stands ready to assist state government in every possible way. I have assured the chief minister and his cabinet colleagues whatever measures are required to provide effective rescue, relief and rehabilitation - money will not be constraint," he said.

Chief Minister K. Rosaiah made a presentation before the prime minister to show the estimated amount of damage that has taken place.

The chief minister also submitted a memorandum to the prime minister, seeking an immediate assistance of Rs.6,000 crore. The memorandum said the floods had caused a loss of Rs.12,266 crore.

"The central team will come and both the central and state government will work together to assess the exact damage," he said.

"It is a national calamity in its own way," was all Manmohan Singh said when asked to react to the state government's demand to declare the floods a national calamity.
 

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