Heavy rains lash pilgrim city

Tirupati: Several mandals in Tirupati district have been experiencing moderate to heavy rains thanks to the active monsoon and low-pressure in Bay of Bengal.

With heavy rains likely to continue Sunday also, the district administration has set up a control room (0877-2236004) at the collectorate to monitor the situation round-the-clock and respond to any emergency.

The administration has asked the fishermen not to venture into the sea. The pilgrim city Tirupati-Tirumala and surrounding mandals have been experiencing heavy rains since early morning affecting the normal life.

The pilgrims who turned up in large numbers due to the weekend holidays were caught unaware of the rains and faced severe inconvenience.

After convening an emergency meeting with district officials, District Collector K Venkatramana Reddy directed the officials to closely monitor the situation particularly in coastal mandals Tada, Sulurpeta, Vakadu, Kota and Chillakuru and take required steps to avoid any loss of lives.

According to sources, the district has received an average rainfall of 34.5 mm at 8 am on Saturday while the total rainfall (cumulative) was 1,171 mm. Pellakuru mandal recorded the highest rainfall of 66 mm followed by Satyavedu 58 mm, Tirupati Rural 54mm, Ramachandrapuram 53 mm, BN Kandriga 52 mm and Chandragiri 51mm, according to official sources.