Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari Briefs Central Team on Heavy Rain Damage in Telangana
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], September 11: Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari briefed a central team led by Col K P Singh about the extensive damage caused by heavy rains in Telangana from August 31 to September 3. The meeting took place at the Secretariat, where senior state government officials were also present.
Santhi Kumari explained that despite receiving the weather alert on short notice, the state administration was on high alert and took swift action, which minimized the loss of human life. The Chief Minister regularly reviewed the situation, and the Deputy Chief Minister, along with two other ministers, traveled to Khammam to oversee relief and rescue operations.
The state government promptly released funds to the district administration for relief measures. Santhi Kumari requested the central team to make guidelines more flexible to allow extensive relief efforts. She also mentioned that the Chief Minister has ordered the formation of specialized teams, similar to the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), for emergency rescue operations. Support from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) for training and logistics was also sought.
Santhi Kumari highlighted the challenge of conducting air rescue operations during heavy rains and sought central assistance in this area. The ecological disaster in the Eturnagaram region, where massive tree felling occurred over 332 hectares, was also discussed. The central team recommended a detailed study to determine the root cause of this unprecedented disaster.
Special Chief Secretary for Disaster Management, Arvind Kumar, provided an overview of the damage and the relief measures initiated by the state government. He stated that initial damage estimates are Rs 5,438 crores, with further assessments ongoing. Senior officials from various departments, including agriculture, roads and buildings, municipal administration, panchayat raj, energy, animal husbandry, and forest, briefed the central team through a PowerPoint presentation.
Doubts Revealed
Chief Secretary -: A Chief Secretary is the top government official in a state who helps the Chief Minister and other officials in running the state smoothly.
Santhi Kumari -: Santhi Kumari is the name of the Chief Secretary of Telangana, a state in India.
Central Team -: A Central Team is a group of officials sent by the central government of India to help and assess situations in different states.
Col K P Singh -: Col K P Singh is the leader of the central team visiting Telangana. ‘Col’ stands for Colonel, a high rank in the army.
Telangana -: Telangana is a state in southern India. Its capital city is Hyderabad.
Chief Minister -: The Chief Minister is the head of the government in a state in India, similar to a principal in a school but for the whole state.
Air rescue operations -: Air rescue operations involve using helicopters or planes to help people who are stuck or in danger, especially during natural disasters like floods.
Specialized teams -: Specialized teams are groups of people trained to handle specific tasks, like rescuing people during floods or providing medical help.
Rs 5,438 crores -: Rs 5,438 crores is a large amount of money, where ‘Rs’ stands for Indian Rupees, and ‘crores’ is a term used in India to represent ten million (10,000,000).