Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government will request the Centre to depute a team of officials to the state to assess the massive damage caused by heavy rains over the last few days and provide assistance.
Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy will write to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this regard, Revenue Minister N Raghuveera Reddy told reporters here on Monday.
A memo will be sent to the Centre after estimating the damage, he said.
He was speaking after a high-level review meeting held by the Chief Minister with ministers and senior officials.
The toll in rain-related incidents has mounted to 24 and crops in 5.25 lakh hectares and horticulture crops in over 24,000 acres were affected.
The Chief Minister, state Congress president and Transport Minister Botsa Satyanarayana and ministers for agriculture and civil supplies would undertake an aerial survey and field visits on Tuesday in various districts to interact with victims and to get first hand information.
Meanwhile, Civil Supplies Minister D Sridhar Babu said an assistance of Rs 1.50 lakh will be given to the kin of the deceased.
The Chief Minister will also request the Centre to relax the norms for purchase of cotton affected by rains, he said.
Meanwhile, a number of villages and towns in the coastal districts of Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, East and West Godavari districts remained inundated, making life difficult for the residents.
However, West Godavari district and its headquarters Eluru gained relief as the rains came to a halt and floodwaters receded. (PTI)