PM to assess Godavari's fury on Friday

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will on Friday review the flood situation Andhra Pradesh before leaving for Nanded in neighbouring Maharashtra for an aerial survey of areas submerged due to floods in Godavari River.

Dr Singh will return to Hyderabad in the evening after completing the aerial survey. He will go round a photo-exhibition on the flood damage in Andhra Pradesh and review the situation with state Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy. He will leave for New Delhi later in the evening.

Disclosing this to media persons in Hyderabad on Thursday, Dr Reddy said he will submit a memorandum to the prime minister, requesting for Central assistance for flood relief and restoration works. 

He said that Dr Singh will also have a teleconference with all district collectors. Senior officials of flood-affected areas in East and West Godavari, Khammam, Krishna districts and other places will participate in the teleconference.

Flood waters were receding in the affected areas along the Godavari River. However, the state government sounded a flood alert along the course of the Krishna River as its tributary Bhima is in spate. Collectors of Krishna and Guntur districts have been asked to evacuate people from low-lying areas as the water discharge has increased to 5.5 lakh cusec from Nagarjunasagar reservoir.

The state government has directed the medical and health department to take all measures to prevent the outbreak of water-borne or vector-borne diseases in the flood-affected areas of the state. About 266 medical camps are being organized in the six badly-affected districts and medical teams are also moving into the villages where the water is receding, the chief minister said.

Meanwhile, the death toll due to heavy rains and floods last week stood at 108, with the recovery of bodies of two landslide victims in Visakhapatnam. Over 1.5 lakh affected families are still housed in 537 relief camps even as the level in the Godavari slowly started receding from the peak level.