Incessant rains wreak havoc in Prakasam
A house damaged due to heavy rains in Kasipuram of Kanigiri mandal on Friday
Ongole: The continuous rain throughout the Prakasam district paralysed public life on Friday.
Most of the educational institutions in many places announced a nonworking day for the safety of the children while the businesses also shut down operations early.
On Friday, Kandukur received 113 mm of rain, while Ulavapadu got 108, Lingasamudram 90, Pamur 72, Singarayakonda 60, VV Palem 68, Gudlur 61, Kothapatnam 58, Tangutur 54, PC Palli 52, Ponnalur 52, Kondepi 51, Ongole 50, CS Puram 49, Zarugumalli 48, Vetapalem received 42 mm. Due to heavy rains, a house at Kanigiri and 2 houses in Gudlur were partially damaged, informed the officials. The incessant rains created anxiety among the farmers as nearly 26,000 acres of crops were inundated and almost 13,770 acres were submerged in the water. The farmers of cotton, chilli, tobacco, redgram and paddy in the district are most worried as they invested heavily in the crops and are expected to suffer losses as the fruit is just forming.
They fear that the roots of the crops may rot in the flood water and cause heavy losses.
The people living in the low-lying areas of the Mopadu reservoir in the Kandukur division were worried for a few hours, as the project was over flown. The people worried that the construction might be weak, but the officials assured them there was no danger but started relief works. Collector Pravin Kumar ordered the Agriculture, Horticulture, Fisheries, Housing and RWS Engineering department officials to prepare the preliminary reports of losses at the ground level.
He instructed the municipal officials to take up a sanitation drive to make sure no disease spreads after water receding from the inundated areas.
DRO Sarala Vandanam informed that they have established four relief camps, three in Ulavapadu and one in Lingasamudram based on the requirement and shifted the public. She said that though there was some disturbance in traffic due to the flooding canals and rivulets at some places in the district, no damage to roads or bridges was reported.
The district administration has set up control rooms at the Collectorate and divisional headquarters and advised the people to call 08592281400 at the Collectorate, 08598223235 at Kandukur Sub-Collector office, 8886616044 at Ongole RDO office, 9110393042 at Markapuram RDO office or the toll-free number 1077, to receive help if required during the heavy rains.