The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Flood situation worsens in State; districts still on alert

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 30, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Flood situation worsens in State; districts still on alert

Special Correspondent

At least 20 streams or rivulets in spate; 24 gates of Nagarjunasagar lifted

HYDERABAD: The flood situation in the State turned grim with overflowing rivulets, streams and tanks inundating more habitations in towns and villages and vast stretches of crops, aided by heavy rain that continued for the third consecutive day on Saturday.

The cyclone weakened into a depression and lay near Ongole. But rain was unabated. Hyderabad city and Nalgonda, Prakasam, Nellore, Kadapa and Kurnool districts received heavy downpour through the night. Besides several localities in the capital, hundreds of habitations came under a sheet of water in these districts.

At least 20 streams or rivulets were in spate, including Buggavanka near Kadapa and Gundlakamma at Atmakur and Rallapadu at Kandukur. Fresh inflows into the Krishna forced authorities to open all the 24 gates of Nagarjunasagar again.

Official washed away

A woman officer working in the Velugu project and two others were washed away when they tried to cross a swollen stream by autorickshaw in Nalgonda district.

Many places in these districts covered by the AP Southern Power Distribution Company plunged into darkness following breakdown in supply due to inundation of a record number of 84 sub-stations and 375 feeders.

P. Gopal Reddy, its CMD, said supply could be resorted to 80 per cent of the places. Benefit to Kadapa town was given through alternative route as the 220-KV sub-station there was water-logged.

The toll reached 20 with seven more casualties coming to light.

Traffic snarls

Traffic snarls clogged highways connecting Vijayawada to Hyderabad and Chnenai at Chityal and Singarayakonda due to flooding, subjecting thousands of people to an ordeal.

Rain damaged standing kharif paddy over large swaths in Prakasam district and nurseries in other areas which would have served the rabi needs of lakhs of acres. Keeping the districts on alert, the Government is maintaining about one lakh people at 110 relief camps.

Update

Giving an update of the situation, Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy said that 90 irrigation tanks breached, nine bridges collapsed while 2,500 houses were damaged.

Following heavy rains overnight, there were five deaths in Hyderabad. Revenue Minister D. Prasada Rao was stranded in Falaknuma express which could be brought to Secunderabad only in the evening. In Nalgonda district, Bhimalingapalli canal breached flooding Mallepalli, Gollapalli and a half dozen villages.

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