Lack of planning led to Hyderabad floods: Cong leader

Hyderabad: Former member of National Disaster Management Agency and chairman of TPCC Election Coordination Committee Marri Shashidhar Reddy alleged that the deluge that ravaged the city of Hyderabad was the result of lack of advance planning on how to tackle heavy rains and floods. In a statement here on Thursday, he said that the Telangana […]

Hyderabad: Former member of National Disaster Management Agency and chairman of TPCC Election Coordination Committee Marri Shashidhar Reddy alleged that the deluge that ravaged the city of Hyderabad was the result of lack of advance planning on how to tackle heavy rains and floods.

In a statement here on Thursday, he said that the Telangana government had failed to provide immediate protection to people and their properties. He suggested that the State set up a Disaster Management Agency at State level and initiate relief operations. “Telangana might not have a sea coast but it is prone to disasters like the recent one. We must set up an agency and be ready for any eventuality,” he suggested.

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He wanted to know how the civic authorities could stop the city from drowning without clearing garbage from the drains. “Hyderabad is no doubt a money earner for the State government but it lacks basic amenities like a proper drainage system,” Shashidhar Reddy pointed out. He criticised the government for taking up beautification of the city at a cost of Rs 65,000 crore while neglecting the basic and essential infrastructure. He said that the government must distribute financial assistance to all the affected and the selected few on political lines. He opined that the Central team that has arrived for a visit to affected areas should have come after the State government submitted its damage report. “TRS and BJP are enacting dramas keeping in mind the GHMC elections,” he said. He said that selective beautification of Hyderabad will only result in more disasters.

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