Hyderabad: At least three persons were washed away in overflowing streams in two incidents – at Rajapet mandal in Yadadri Bhongir district and Sungapur village in Adilabad district – on Monday, even as heavy rains lashed different parts of the State in the past two days.
Two women, who were riding pillion on a two-wheeler driven by a 36-year-old man, were washed away when he attempted to cross a swollen Dosapadu stream at Rajapet mandal on Monday afternoon, while a 30-year-old daily wage earner was washed away in a flooded stream at Sungapur village in Tiryani mandal late on Sunday night. His wife and friend, however, managed to escape the flood fury. The bodies of all three are yet to be traced.
In Rajanna Sircilla district, it was a close shave for 12 passengers travelling by a TSRTC bus after it got stuck in overflowing water while crossing Maneru stream on the Gambiraopet-Lingannapet route. Using ropes, locals rescued all the passengers in an operation that lasted an hour.
Following the heavy rains, several low lying areas were inundated and streams were overflowing in different parts of the State, affecting normal life. Finance Minister T. Harish Rao inspected a few colonies that got partially inundated in Chinna Koduru at Siddipet and monitored the relief works.
Heavy rains lashed different villages in Dharmaram mandal, Peddapalli and Bodh, Sirikonda, Ichhoda and other mandals in Adilabad district. Several mandals in Nizamabad district too received moderate rains.
According to Telangana State Development Planning Society reports till Monday evening, Mallaram in Vemulawada received the highest rainfall of 101.8 mm, followed by 75 mm at Govindram in Jagityal and 65.3 mm at Raghavapur in Siddipet.
More rains on Tuesday, CS directs officials to be alert
With more rains accompanied by thundershowers forecast in the State, particularly in the northern districts on Tuesday, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar along with DGP Mahender Reddy held a video conference with District Collectors, SPs and irrigation officials of erstwhile Adilabad, Nizambad, Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam districts.
The Chief Secretary directed officials to alert people residing in low lying areas and also instructed electricity department officials to closely monitor the situation. All the field level officers have been directed to stay in their respective district headquarters. Collectors were directed to conduct teleconference with all officials and to closely monitor the situation in the districts.
Following the heavy rains in the past two days, various irrigation projects on both Krishna and Godavari basins have reported steady inflows. Lower Manair Dam received nearly 50,000 cusecs through Moya Thummeda stream following rains in Karimnagar. The current water storage in the reservoir was 22.5 tmc and officials are regularly monitoring the water levels. They are likely to open the gates to release water downstream if another tmc of inflow was received into the reservoir.
