Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday promised that his government would provide full aid to the people who suffered damage due to the massive flood in river Godavari this month.
He also said it was the state government's responsibility to do good to the people and all assistance would be extended before the turn of the season.
The Chief Minister visited G Pedapudi, Arigelavaripeta, Udumudi Lanka and other villages in Konaseema district that were hit hard by the deluge.
He, along with an entourage of ministers and legislators, crossed a rivulet on a pontoon and then hopped on to a tractor-trailer to go around the villages. The Chief Minister's tour continued under moderate rain.
Reddy interacted with the villagers and enquired about the relief provided by the administration.
The Chief Minister said he delayed his visit to the flood-hit areas to let the administration do its job first of extending all relief to the victims.
Our prime focus was on preventing loss of life and damage to properties. Accordingly, we have undertaken rescue and relief operations when the flood level started going up," the Chief Minister said.
When he affectionately took a months-old infant into his hands at Putchakayalavari Peta, the baby pulled out the pen from Reddy's pocket and he left the pen in the baby's hands as a gift.
The Chief Minister promised to build a bridge at G Pedapudi Lanka, one of the island villages in the region, that bore the brunt of the massive flood.
Konaseema was one of the five districts worst-affected by the flood that peaked to 25.80 lakh cusecs on July 16. Over 1.96 lakh people were hit by the flood that left 53 villages inundated in the district.
Of the seven persons killed in the flood over the past few days, five were from Konaseema district.
The Chief Minister conducted an aerial survey of the flood-hit districts on July 15 but came under severe attack from the opposition parties for avoiding a personal visit to console the victims.
The opposition parties have been alleging that the government left the flood-affected people in the lurch as the promised aid was not properly distributed.
The ruling YSR Congress countered this saying about 94,000 families were paid Rs 2,000 each as immediate relief.
The Chief Minister, during his tour of the affected villages on Tuesday, rebutted the opposition claims and asked the people if they had been looked after well by the authorities.
Almost at every place, the Chief Minister received a positive response from the people to his queries on flood relief.
On Wednesday, Reddy will visit Alluri Sitarama Raju and Eluru districts to take stock of the situation in the aftermath of the flood.—PTI