Hyderabad floods fail to move Centre

Hyderabad: The Central government while showering boons to other States and providing support in times of distress remains oblivious to the woes of the people of Telangana even when they are faced with hard times. This prejudiced approach on part of the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was very obvious when unprecedented […]

Hyderabad: The Central government while showering boons to other States and providing support in times of distress remains oblivious to the woes of the people of Telangana even when they are faced with hard times. This prejudiced approach on part of the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was very obvious when unprecedented heavy downpours lashed and flooded Hyderabad leaving people in dire need of help and assistance in the year 2020.

The Centre, which opened its coffers and extended help to 21 States by providing around Rs 40,000 crores under National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) from 2018-19 to 2021-22, maintained its apathetic approach towards Telangana.

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Not a paisa was provided to the State even when heavy rains flooded the city and people faced severe hardships for days. In what turned out to be the second-highest rainfall to lash in the last 100 years, Hyderabad witnessed a record downpour of 32 cm that left lakhs of people in uncertain times in October 2020.

This is despite the Chief Minister, K Chandrashekhar Rao writing to the Prime Minister and requesting an immediate help of Rs 1,350 crore and Rs 5,000 crore from NDRF. This was followed by the MA&UD Minister, KT Rama Rao also appealing to the Centre and reminding about the Chief Minister’s letter.

Yet, the Modi government was neither moved by the plight of the citizens nor chose to extend a helping hand during the time of distress. Even a five-member central team’s visit to Hyderabad in the aftermath of the nightmarish flooding went futile. Ironically, union Minister G Kishan Reddy, who never misses an opportunity in making tall claims, failed to follow up and get the required assistance to Hyderabad from the union government.

It is common for any State to seek help from the union government in times of disasters and the Centre is duty-bound to reach out and support them. While the present dispensation in the Centre has been extremely benevolent in helping some States, the same sorely is missed out when it comes to the people of Telangana.

However, not deterred by the NDA government’s discrimination towards Telangana, the State government led by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao come out in complete support of people affected by the flooding. In a humanitarian gesture, the Chief Minister not only ensured that rice and essentials were provided to families affected by the flooding but also provided Rs 10,000 in cash.

Says Manne Krishank, Chairman of Telangana State Mineral Development Corporation, “though the entire nation saw how Hyderabad was affected by the heavy rains and flooding, the BJP government at Centre pretended not to notice it. The kind of support that the Centre extends to other States is never given to Telangana.”

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