Hyderabad: The worst flood in Andhra Pradesh, which left a trail of death and destruction, has dampened the campaign to make Jaganmohan Reddy the Chief Minister and helped interim CM K Rosaiah to consolidate his position.
With his rich administrative and political experience behind him, Rosaiah`s handling of the crisis won the acclaim of Congress leadership.
Rosaiah had a distinct advantage -- he enjoys a good rapport with all senior bureaucrats, unlike his predecessor Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, which helped him implement the disaster management plan efficiently.
Bureaucratic support helped him in mitigating the damage to a significant extent, particularly in Krishna, Guntur and Nalgonda districts which faced a greater threat than the worst-hit Mahbubnagar and Kurnool districts.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, who conducted an aerial survey of the flood-hit districts, praised the chief minister over disaster management, sending a message to the party rank and file that Rosaiah would continue to hold fort for a longer period.
The natural calamity also pushed the pro-Jagan lobby into a situation, where it could not press the demand for elevating their leader at a time when the state was facing the worst disaster.
More water released from Nagarjuna; 14,000 evacuated
Over 14,000 people were evacuated from the low lying areas as the Irrigation Department on Sunday released 5.50 lakh cusecs of water from the Nagarjuna Sagar dam, which will flow into Prakasam Barrage, officials said.
Government officials, however, maintained the people were evacuated only as a precautionary measure and the quantum of water that was released today was much less.
"The water levels at the three dams -- Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar and Prakasam Barrage have receded considerably and the flow of water causes no concern," an official of the Irrigation Department told reporters.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister`s Relief Fund (CMRF) today received about Rs 5,58,45,536.
Among the notable donors are staff of Cooperation Department who donated Rs five crore.
According to official information, so far the donations to CMRF for flood relief had crossed Rs 30 crore.
K Rosaiah, who is on a tour to flood-affected areas, expressed gratitude to philanthropists and representatives of NGOs and individuals who made the contributions.
Bureau Report
