The Hindu : National : No flood warning, says Congress

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Friday, Aug 04, 2006

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National

No flood warning, says Congress

Special Correspondent

Gujarat "completely failed" in providing relief to flood-affected

Photo: PTI

TO A SAFER TERRAIN: Rescue workers evacuate schoolchildren from their campus at Bhalada village, South Gujarat, on Wednesday.

GANDHINAGAR: The Congress accused the Gujarat Government of having completely failed to provide relief to flood-affected people in the State.

Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, Arjun Modhvadia, said here on Thursday that the State-controlled Disaster Management Authority had fallen short of people's expectations. The Authority had not only failed to issue a timely warning about the floods but also not offered aid after the disaster struck, he charged.

While the BJP Government in the State blamed the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre for not providing adequate funds for flood relief, he said it had not fully utilised the Centre's assistance last year.

Mr. Modhvadia claimed that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had, at the behest of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, sent Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation after floods hit the State last year. Subsequently, the Centre announced an immediate aid of Rs. 500 crore as demanded by Chief Minister Narendra Modi, but the State utilised only Rs. 313 crore. The remaining Rs. 187 crore was returned to the Centre.

Meanwhile, Air Force helicopters, pressed into service to drop food packets to people marooned by flood water, returned to their bases as most villages are now accessible with the flood waters receding. There has been a let-up in rainfall too.

Water Resources Minister Narottam Patel said the heavy rain had solved the drinking water crisis and irrigation problems in the State. He said while most major and medium dams were either full or overflowing, more than 24 million cubic metres of water were stored in over 54,000 check dams.

An official spokesman of the State Government, however, admitted that there were threats of epidemic outbursts in flood-ravaged areas. Eighteen cases of gastroenteritis and one dengue case were registeredin Rajkot , he added.

Rain persists in Orissa

Staff Reporter writes from Bhubaneswar

The flood situation in Orissa districts remained grim as heavy rain, caused by a depression over the Bay of Bengal, continued to lash most parts of the State for the fourth day on Thursday.

Two persons were swept away in Patangi block of Koraput district.

Road connectivity between Berhampur and Rayagada was disrupted as floods in Bansadhara river caused a breach near a bridge at Gumuda in Gajapati district.

The Chandrapur-Bijepur road and the road between Chandrapur and Muniguda were damaged by flash floods, Revenue Minister Manmohan Samal told the State Assembly.

Train movement between Rayagada and Koraput was affected due to landslide in the region, the Minister added.

Heavy rain also affected normal life in Kalahandi district.

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