GUNTUR : Floods are not new, but reacting to the situation and providing relief is very important, but the Congress Government failed to do that during the recent floods in 16 districts of Andhra Pradesh, said former minister Kodela Siva Prasada Rao.

The visit of AICC president Sonia Gandhi to flood-affected districts of the State was futile, as she did not announce any relief and if she was not competent enough, the Prime Minister should have visited the areas to instil confidence among the people marooned in 1,000 villages, he opined.

At a press conference on Thursday, he severely criticised the Congress Government for allegedly failing to come to rescue of the people like the TDP did by setting up a secretariat at Visakhapatnam and Rajahmundry to take immediate decisions and ensure relief reached the victims at the earliest.

Full capacity

For days together many people had gone without water and food , he alleged and wanted the public representatives to go to the affected areas and ensure officials worked to their full capacity. The Government failed in sanctioning funds in time to repair the bunds of rivers and canals to ensure water did not enter villages, which resulted in the current deluge, he opined. The good work of TDP regime was not continued, which told upon the infrastructure in the Godavari basin, he added.

Dig at officials

The conduct of panchayat elections was the worst in Guntur district, he said alleging had some officials not worked as Congress party agents the TDP would have won many more seats in Zilla Parishad and panchayats.

He squarely put the blame on district collector G. Jayalakshmi for not having controlled the officials properly.

"We are collecting the names of all officials who had worked for the ruling party to ensure they were brought to book," he said.

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