Heavy rain lashes Kurnool district

Kurnool: Incessant rains wreaked havoc in Kurnool district. Of the 53 mandals in the district, around 12 mandals have been hit by rains.

Crops grown in hundreds of acres were submerged in the floodwaters. As many as 87 villages in Dornipadu, Koilakuntla, Chagalamarri, Holagunda, Kolimigundla, Kosigi, Bandi Atmakur, Panyam, Banaganapalli, Mahanandi, Nandyal and Allagadda mandals were inundated due to heavy rains.

Agriculture crops in an extent of 17,371 hectares were reportedly damaged, according to a report given by the Joint Director of Agriculture Department.

Similarly, horticulture crops in seven mandals - Chagalamarri, Kothapalli, Pamulapadu, Velugodu, Sanjamala and Kolimigundla were also damaged. River Vedavathi and a stream near Kornpalle village in Kolimigundla were also reported to be overflowing crossing the danger mark level. A mud roof house in Molagavalli in Alur mandal collapsed due to the incessant rains but no casualties were reported.

Joint Director of Agriculture (JDA) PL Vara Lakshmi told The Hans India that paddy, black gram and Bengal gram were damaged due to the rains. She said paddy in an extent of 6801 hectares, black gram in 700 hectares and Bengal gram in 9,870 hectares were inundated in rainwater.

The paddy was ready to harvest, black gram was in flowering stage and Bengal gram was a month-old crop and they were submerged, the Joint Director pointed out.

The Assistant Director of Horticulture (ADH) BV Ramana said that the onion, chilly, vegetables and banana crops were also affected due to the incessant rains. More than 33 per cent of a total of 172.80 hectares were submerged in the floodwaters. The rains have also caused great damage to cotton, maize and pulses crops.

Fortunately no human, property or livestock loss was reported across the district. But the fire department officials have rescued a woman, Ramulamma, a resident of Gorukallu village in Panyam mandal. The Assistant District Fire Officer (ADFO) B Yogeswara Reddy said that they were informed that a woman accdentally fell in Gorukallu reservoir. "We immediately rushed to the spot and rescued the woman," Yogeswara Reddy said.

District collector P Koteswara Rao held a video-conference with the officials of all departments and instructed them to be alert round-the-clock. He advised the officials to take precautionary measures and shift the people in low-lying areas and mud-roof houses to safer places.

The officials were also told to warn the people not to cross the rivers, streams and others as there it may pose threat to their lives.

Almost all the streams, lakes, ponds and rivers were filled to brim with floodwaters, the Collector said.