Vijayamma demands rescue measures

Hyderabad, June 21,
2013: Expressing serious concern over the fate of the stranded Telugu people
who were on a Char Dham pilgrimage in the flood-hit Uttarkhand, YSR Congress honourary
president Smt. Y.S.Vijayamma asked CM Kiran Kumar Reddy to initiate immediate
measures on a war-footing basis to rescue them and bring them back safely to
their destinations.

In a letter addressed
to the CM, she said it was a matter of grave concern that some 70,000 pilgrims were
stranded due to flash floods following cloudburst and landslides. “It is
disturbing to learn that many people died in the floods and that nearly 5000 Telugu
people were also trapped in the flash floods,” she observed in the letter.

Lamenting that the
flood-trapped Telugus have been going without food, shelter and water in the bitter
cold of 5 degree temperature for the last few days, she asked the CM to talk to
the Centre and the Uttarakhand Government and initiate immediately all possible
measures to save the precious lives.

Faulting the CM for not
acting immediately, she asked the Government to send a team of officials to
Uttarakhand to identify and help the stranded Telugu pilgrims. “If you had
acted immediately when the news of the floods broke out as we have demanded,
this much concern wouldn’t have been there,” she said.

She said it is
unfortunate that the Government has no records of the number of people trapped
in the Uttarakasi floods. “It is very sad to learn that some Telugu people have
died of the floods. At least act now and save the lives,” she suggested.  

Asking the Government
to pay an ex-gratia of Rs.10 lakh each to the families of the pilgrims who
died, Smt. Vijayamma also demanded that Government bring the stranded Telugus back
to the state with its cost and provide them necessary medical treatment.