Villages in coastal areas still inundated

A number of villages and towns in the coastal districts of Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, East and West Godavari districts remained inundated making life difficult for the residents.

 However, West Godavari district and its headquarters town Eluru heaved a sigh of relief as the rains came to a halt and flood water receded.
 An official note issued by the Disaster Management Commissioner said that 25 people have lost their lives in various rain-related incidents so far.
It said 1,289 houses were fully damaged while 5607 were partially damaged due to rains. The government has set up 180 relief camps in which 69,599 people were provided shelter while 37 medical camps were organised, it said.
 In West Godavari district, 86 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel and eight Navy personnel have been deployed for relief and rescue operations.
 The release said that isolated heavy rains would occur in the districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East and West Godavari and Krishna during the next 48 hours.
 District officials up to Tahsildar level have been on alert and the district medical officials have been told to keep stocks of necessary medicines readily available, the release said.
 Civil supplies department has been asked to keep stocks of essential commodities like rice and edible oils for supply.
 Army, Navy, Air Force and NDRF personnel have also been requested to be ready for deployment and additional special officers have also been appointed to monitor relief work, the release added.
 TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu and Yuvajana Sramika YSR Congress Party honorary president Y S Vijayamma toured in rain-hit areas on Monday.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi  telephoned the Chief Minister and enquired about the situation arising out of the heavy rains in Andhra Pradesh, official sources said. They extended sympathies to the victims and assured adequate support to the state to deal with the calamity and its fallout, they said.
Kiran Reddy updated them about the prevailing situation and informed that he will be touring the rain-affected areas on Tuesday, the sources said.
PTI