Hyderabad, Oct 10 :
Union Minister for Law and in-charge of Andhra Pradesh affairs Veerappa Moily on Saturday said that the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, announcement of Rs 1,000 crore advance financial assistance to the flood victims is the part of first phase of relief for the state. Talking to media persons here, he said that Dr Singh expressed deep concern during his aerial survey when he saw the havoc wreaked by the floods. He said that the Centre would extend all help for flood victims and release more relief for taking rehabilitation and restoration works in flood hit districts.
He lauded the state government for the way it tackled the unprecedented floods in Krishna and Tungabhadra river basins. “The state officials did really a good job in minimizing the flood damage by lifting flood gates in time and managing inflows and outflows in the dams,” he said. He said Dr Singh satisfied with the steps taken by the State government in providing relief and rehabilitation for flood victims.
He criticized the Opposition leader and Telugu Desam Party President, N Chandrababu Naidu, for making baseless allegations on tardy progress in relief operations. The floods claimed 63 lives, affected 17.07 lakh population in 565 villages in 87 mandals in five districts besides inundating Kurnool and Nandyal towns.