LS MPs seek urgent relief to TN, AP for rains, floods

Members in the Lok Sabha today made strong plea for all possible help and assistance to Tamil Nadu, battered by unprecedented rains, as it discussed the flood situation in various parts of the country.
They said that Tamil Nadu, especially Chennai and the adjoining districts, and parts of Andhra Pradesh were witnessing the fury of the northeastern monsoon and needed all efforts for rescue, relief and rehabilitation.
Expressing concern over the situation, T G Venkatesh Babu (AIADMK) urged the Centre to immediately release funds to carry out relief works in flood-affected areas of Tamil Nadu on a war-footing.
Insisting that the flood situation in Tamil Nadu should be considered as a "national calamity", he said that the Centre should give funds to the state which has sought over Rs 8,480 crore towards relief works from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).

He also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as the central forces for their immediate response towards the enormous relief works.
Sharing the concern, Sudip Bandhyopadhyay (TMC) said that West Bengal had witnessed both floods and drought in different parts of the state and should be helped along with Tamil Nadu.

He said the Mamata Banerjee government has sought Rs 6,000 crore from the Centre to tackle the situation.
Venkatesh Babu also took a swipe at the Opposition in
Tamil Nadu for criticising the relief works being done by the state government.
"Opposition (in Tamil Nadu) is trying to take advantage of the calamity. BJP and central ministers are no exception," the AIADMK member added.

Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD) was all praise for Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for personally reaching out to people in the time of crisis.
He said Odisha also shares the demand of several states that the Centre should bear the burden of the State Disaster Relief Fund.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (Cong) utilised the occasion to target the West Bengal Chief Minister, accusing her of being "very indifferent" to people in the state hit be floods and drought.
As members met after lunch, Naidu urged members to
refrain from making comments against any Chief Minister and instead discuss the flood situation to express solidarity with the affected people. His remark came after Sugata Bose (TMC) pointed out that some adverse remarks had been made by a member against Banerjee.

Bose said when West Bengal was hit by floods in July, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had cut short her "very important" visit to London and returned to the state to personally monitor the situation.
Observing that states affected by floods recently were Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal apart from Tamil Nadu, Naidu said members should provide meaningful suggestions as to what can be done in the short and medium terms and the government was willing to accept them.
While Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD) wanted the discussion to be focussed only on flood situation, Dharmendra Yadav (SP) wanted the House to discuss drought as well.

As Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai asked the House to decide on the topic, Kharge remarked that unless Naidu says, the House will not decide.
Naidu shot back at Kharge saying "People are getting drowned in flood and still you are after my blood".
Thota Narasimhan (TDP) demanded financial assistance to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore for relief operations in flood affected Andhra Pradesh.
P K Sreemathi Teacher (CPI-M) said the Centre should immediately send a medical team to Tamil Nadu to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. "We should do proper town planning on how to encounter natural disasters scientifically in future," Teacher said.

Rajamohan Reddy (YSRC) said standing crops and poultry have been damaged due to heavy rains in Andhra Pradesh and the Centre should come to the rescue of the people.
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Sushmita Dev (Cong) said the government should provide all assistance to deal with the flood situation in Tamil Nadu. "No matter how progressive a state is, at times of a calamity, we all look towards Centre for assistance," she said.
She also highlighted the issue of floods in Assam which the state faces every year and emphasised the need for finding a permanent solution.
The government will reply to the debate on the flood condition faced by various states tomorrow as the situation is evolving, said Minister of state for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

Congress leader Kharge said the PM and Home Minister should visit the affected areas in Tamil Nadu and suggested in a lighter vein that Rudy, who is "a good pilot", should fly them there.
Participating in the debate, BJP MP K Hari Babu of Andhra Pradesh said the flood in his state has caused loss to agriculture and aquaculture. Besides, the national highway connecting Chennai and Kolkata has been damaged due to floods.
While NH16 has been damaged, the parallel rail track has remained unaffected because of its "proper designing", he said, adding that the NHAI should check capacity of culverts so that roads should not get damaged due to floods.

Dharmendra Yadav (SP) urged the Centre provide assistance to Tamil Nadu government without delay.
Expressing solidarity towards the flood-hit people, Bhagwant Mann (AAP) and Badruddin Ajmal (AIUDF) called for devising a mechanism so that people are alerted in advance to minimise loss of life and property.
AIADMK members J Jayavardhan and K Maragatham said Tamil Nadu would require total assistance of about Rs 8,400 crore including funds for rebuilding infrastructure and sought that the devastating flood in the state should be declared a national calamity.
Talking about flood situation in Andhra Pradesh, TDP MP M Srinivasa Rao spoke of damage due to floods across his state. As per the primary estimate Rs 3,000 crore is required, he said, urging the Centre to sanction at least Rs 1,000 crore immediately to the state government.

Among others who participated in the discussion included Jugal Kishore Sharma (BJP), P Karunakaran (CPI-M), Arvind G Sawant (Shiv Sena), Kaushalendra Kumar (JD-U), Rajesh Ranjan (RJD), Dushyant Chautala (INLD), Shangamitra Mamtaz (Trinamool Congress), K C Venugopal and Ninong Ering (both Congress), P Venugopal (AIADMK) and Mohd Fazal (NCP).