Marut Drones, a Hyderabad-based drone company, in collaboration with the Andhra Pradesh Drone Corporation, is making 200 deliveries per hour, reaching at least 5,000 people. The company aims to assist at least 25,000 people during this crisis.
In Short
- 25 kg rice, 1 kg dal, 1 kg oil, 1 kg sugar among supplies
- Drones, helicopters deployed to deliver food, medicines, drinking water
- 47 rescue teams including SDRF, NDRF deployed for relief works
Essential commodities will be provided to the flood-affected families in parts of Andhra Pradesh, State Civil Supplies Minister Nadendla Manohar said on Thursday.
In an exclusive interview with India Today TV, Manohar said supplies, including 25 kgs of rice, 1 kg of Toor dal, 1 kg of palm oil, 1 kg of sugar and 2 kgs of potato and onion will be provided to the affected people in flood-ravaged Andhra Pradesh from September 6.
“We’ve also tied up with LPG supplying companies for 12 free service camps. We hope to deliver all these essential commodities to them at their doorstep”, Andhra Pradesh Civil Supplies Minister Manohar Nadendla said.
His remarks came amid massive floods in the southern state, disrupting daily life, damaging roads and nearly 2.35 lakh farmers suffering losses across the state.
At least 10 drones have been deployed to deliver food, medicines, and drinking water to residents stranded in severe flooding.
Marut Drones, a Hyderabad-based drone company, in collaboration with the Andhra Pradesh Drone Corporation, is making 200 deliveries per hour, reaching at least 5,000 people. The company aims to assist at least 25,000 people during this crisis.
“This is the first of its kind of drones that are helping us map the area and ensure outreach that we have. We’ve also made it a point to bring drones into the disaster management process as a conscious effort henceforth”, Nadendla said.
In addition to drones, helicopters have been deployed to distribute food items such as biscuits, fruits, milk, and medicines.
Andhra Pradesh has been witnessing heavy rains and subsequent floods over the past few days, in what Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu described as the “worst devastation” he had ever witnessed.
People affected by floods have been stranded and have been left without food, electricity and clean drinking water.
Till September 3, at least 19 people died in the state due to rain-related incidents, prompting the Naidu government to take effective relief measures.
Meanwhile, a total of 47 rescue teams, including personnel from the NDRF and SDRF, were deployed for relief operations in the state.
But despite all these efforts, there have been concerns raised that the last mile connectivity is still lacking.
“We’ve improved our communication, deployed special officers on the ground. We’ll be able to get a better perception of how much more we can give to those who require additional help”, the Andhra minister maintained.
“We are reaching out to more people to extend at least the minimum support and hope that life returns to normalcy in these areas”, he added.
The best that the government can do in these times is give them comfort, and it’s the human touch that makes the difference, Nadendla said.
