Day 5: Rain God shows no mercy
As inflows to the Hussain Sagar are increasing due to incessant rains during the past five days, the lake gates were opened letting out floodwaters on Tuesday. Photo: Adula Krishna
Hyderabad: Heavy rains threw normal life out of gear for the fifth consecutive day on Tuesday in the Telangana state. Due to relentless rain, traffic between Telangana and Maharashtra was affected as roads were inundated by flood water. Water was flowing on state highways between Bheemgal and Sirikonda. Similarly, in the GSR colony in Nirmal, water entered some houses and traffic was disrupted.
Traffic jam for over five hours was seen between Peddapali to Karimnagar as the Bojjanna tank overflowed and roads were inundated. Police had to struggle to divert the traffic. Water also entered houses in the Jainadh mandal in Adilabad. SRSP received heavy inflows and the project is brimming with water.
The weather office has issued a red alert to five districts, including Jagtial, Karimnagar and Mancherial. Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan witnessed the rain fury while going to attend a programme in Chandupatla village. Water was overflowing over the bridge on Pedda Cheruvu and her convoy had to cross it.
The Government pressed in to service a chopper to lift the stranded farm labourers in an island in Jagtial district. Nine agricultural labourers were trapped in the island in Bornapalli village of Raikal mandal. NDRF personnel were making efforts to rescue them.
Officials said that water levels were rising at Jurala and Tungabhadra dams. Anticipating huge floods, the authorities asked the fishermen to stop fishing in Srisailam backwaters until water levels in the project receded.
In the old Khammam district, water entered the temple town of Bhadrachalam. Many colonies, including the Lord Rama temple premises, got inundated by flood waters. Bathing Ghats and Annadanam facilities were filled with flood waters. Officials swung into action to discharge water from the premises.
Fertilizer production had come to a standstill at the Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited (RFCL).
Urea supplies have been stopped to other states from the company.
Flood-related incidents mainly traffic disruptions and breach of canal were reported from Khammam, Nalgonda and Mahbubnagar districts.
In Hyderabad, officials were on high alert in the wake of increasing water levels in the reservoirs. GHMC and irrigation officials were monitoring the water levels in all water bodies to ensure no untoward incidents. Since morning, people were staying inside their homes due to continuous downpour in many parts of the city. IT employees chose to work from home. Hussain Sagar, Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar reached full tank level.