TDP's Nara Lokesh escapes unhurt in tractor incident

TDP leader Nara Lokesh had a narrow escape when the tractor he was travelling in lost its balance and rammed into a canal. The incident happened when Lokesh was visiting the flood-ravaged areas of the state.

West Godavari: TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh on Monday narrowly escaped a major accident when the tractor in which he was travelling in lost balance and rammed into a canal.

Lokesh, national general secretary and son of former Chief Minister N Chandrababu was visiting the flood-hit areas in West Godavari district. During his visit at Siddhapuram village, Lokesh drove a tractor.

The tractor lost balance and rammed into the Upputeru canal along the road. Undi constituency MLA Mantena Ramaraju who was next to Lokesh was alerted and controlled the tractor. Lokesh got down from the tractor and the TDP workers and Lokesh's security breathed easy as nothing happened to him.

Andhra Pradesh had received incessant rainfall last week, triggering flood-like situation and leaving behind a huge trail of destruction. Roads and power installations suffered severe damage while standing crops in thousands of acres were destroyed due to the mayhem.

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had said as per preliminary estimates, the state suffered damage to the tune of Rs 4,450 crore due to the deluge from October 9 to 13 and the consequent flooding.

Meanwhile, a seven-member central team will visit Andhra Pradesh for an on-the-spot assessment of the damage caused by the recent heavy rains and floods in the state.

Based on the study, the inter-ministerial team, headed by Rakesh Kumar Singh, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, will also recommend whether the disaster in the state could be considered to be of a severe nature. Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy last week wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, requesting that the Centre immediately grant Rs 2,250 crore to the state that was battered by heavy rains and floods this month.

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With agency inputs