Hyderabad: Thousands scramble for 10K relief

Hyderabad: Stampede-like situation prevailed as thousands of persons queued up at Mee Seva centres in Hyderabad and surrounding areas to apply for Rs 10,000 aid from the Telangana government for every household affected by the recent heavy rains and floods. Men and women started gathering at Mee Seva centres, the citizen services delivery centres, since early morning to apply for the aid. Applicants were seen jostling with one another. Police and Mee Seva personnel had a tough time in controlling the crowds. All COVID-19 safety norms were thrown to the wind as the applicants stood in queues with no social distancing and only a few wore face masks. The queues from the centres extended up to the roads, leading to traffic jams at a few places. It was all chaos at Mee Seva centre at Road Transport Authority (RTA) office premises in Khairatabad in the heart of the city. A woman, who claimed that she lost all her belongings in the heavy rains, said she was waiting in the queue since 4 am.

"I lost the entire day yesterday in the queue but by the time my turn came the officials stopped receiving applications. I don't know whether I will be lucky today," she said. The applicants were angry that the officials had not turned up to receive the applications even till 9 am.

Similar situation prevailed at Mee Seva centres in Amberpet, Chanda Nagar, Sanath Nagar, Maredpally, Kukatpally, LB Nagar, Vanasthalipuram and Secunderabad. Heavy rains and floods on October 14-15 had battered the city and nearby areas, killing around 50 people and inundating hundreds of colonies.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had announced that every affected family will be provided Rs 10,000. The government had released Rs 550 crore for the purpose. The authorities claimed to have disbursed more than Rs 470 crore to 4,75,871 families in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and adjoining municipalities. However, many people in the affected areas complained that they have not received the aid.

Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao had announced on Sunday that those who have not received the aid can apply through Mee Seva centres. He said the officials concerned would visit the houses of the applicants and the amount will be credited in the bank accounts of those eligible. From Monday, the Mee Seva centres were flooded with applicants.

With Tuesday's announcement that GHMC elections would be held on December 1, the applicants are hopeful of receiving the money.