Central Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan arrived in the flood-hit Vijayawada city, Andhra Pradesh, on Thursday to take an on-the-spot appraisal of the latest floods from the Krishna River and Budameru rivulet. The purpose of a visit by Chouhan was to gain firsthand experience of the mess and extend his support to the rescue mission.
At the same time, an inter-ministerial team from the central government started visiting the flood-affected area in Krishna Guntur and NTR districts. Chouhan landed in Gannavaram and inspected floods affected areas of Vijayawada in a helicopter. The minister was accompanied by some senior officials of his ministry, state BJP president cum MP Daggubati Purandeshwari and the state IT Minister Nara Lokesh, while Chouhan himself looked into some of the most sensitive sections.
The Union minister scrutinized Budameru rivulet and catchment areas and other affected areas, including Jakkampudi Milk Factory, Kandrika, and Ajit Singh Nagar. The youth of Vijayawada, Lokesh, explained the causes of the floods in the Budameru rivulet and its effects on the city of Chouhan.
After the aerial survey, Chouhan went to the Prakasam barrage to see the half-opened gates, which had been partially damaged during the floods by boats. Initially, he was taken on a boat provided by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and visited the submerged parts of the Jakkampudi Colony and Singh Nagar. It concluded with his visit to the Vijayawada collector, with whom he discussed the image-based event that depicted the flood and the loss caused by it.
Chouhan presided over a meeting to review the damages caused to the state by the flood, and nearly all the senior IAS officers attended the meeting. Heads of departments provided their evaluations and filed reports containing information on the losses sustained.
Central Minister Chouhan shared information regarding his aerial tour through his official Twitter handle during the day. He claimed that the minister, along with other officials from both the central and the state governments, would determine the extent of crop damage and further affirmed that the central government was aware of the problem and would, in turn, assist where necessary.
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