People continue to visit Collectorate to submit applications for flood compensation

Flood victims showing their applications for compensation, outside the Collectorate in Vijayawada on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: G.N. RAO

People continued to visit the Collectorate in Vijayawada on Saturday (September 28, 2024) to submit their applications seeking compensation for the loss incurred during the floods that wreaked havoc in the first week of the month.

The list of flood-victims across 32 affected wards in the city was announced at the secretariats on September 22 and 23. Those who did not find their names on the beneficiary lists sent their applications and subsequently another list was announced on September 26. Some people, who were left out on the re-enumeration list, have again begun been making rounds to the secretariats and the Collectorate to submit their applications.

Also read: Andhra Pradesh government announces enhanced relief package for flood-affected areas

On Saturday (September 28, 2024), officials at the counter on the Collectorate premises said more than 1,100 fresh applications were received. Most of whom came on Saturday said their applications were rejected at the ward secretariat level, and that they were sent to the Collectorate to submit the same.

“When the official team came to our house in the Ramalayam Street in Payakapuram to assess the loss, we told them there does not seem to be any damage since we had just then returned home from a relative’s place. It was after they left that we realised the extent of loss. When we went to the Ward Secretariat, they said we should have told the same during the survey,” said P. Pravalika.

Another woman, Kanaka Mahalakshmi, said she saw the officials going to her neighbours’ house in ward 46 of One Town, but they did not come to hers. “Our loss is more than a lakh since we lost two motorcycles, fridge, washing machine and a cot. My neighbours got the compensation and have drawn the amount from ATM too, while we are still running from pillar to post,” she said.

Some people found difficult to write the applications that asked for personal information including name, address, ward and sachivayalam numbers, Aadhaar number, phone number, gist of grievance, type of house, in English. They were getting it written by others, who charged ₹10 for writing an application, people here said.

Some said the officials wrote down names of whoever was present at the time of their visit. “They noted down a 14-year-old’s details since his parents were not at home. He does not even have a bank account. Now his parents have sent another application,” Sivamma, working as a help at a school in Payakapuram, said.

Officials at the counter said people need not worry about not finding their names since they can always approach the government for help.