Telangana on flood alert

Hyderabad: Heavy rains have disrupted normal life in the Telangana state. IMD predicted heavy to very heavy rains in the next 48 hours. Following this the state government declared holidays for government offices and all educational institutions on Friday and Saturday under the GHMC limits. Water entered several houses in the low-lying areas like LB Nagar and Anand Nagar.

Irrigation projects, rivers and reservoirs are under close watch in view of the heavy inflows in the Godavari river basin. The authorities have sounded first alert at Bhadrachalam due to heavy inflows in the river from the upstream areas on Thursday.

People have been advised to cancel travel plans and stay indoors as more rains are expected in the next two days. Reports said that some habitations near the Godavari basin got submerged due to flood waters in old Khammam and Kamareddy districts.

Sensing the gravity of the situation, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has asked Hyderabad Collector D Anudeep to rush to Bhadrachalam to monitor the flood situation and take up relief and rescue operations in the affected areas.

All the officials working in the Medical and Health, Municipal Administration, Panchayat Raj, Irrigation and other emergency services have been asked to cancel their leaves and holidays and discharge their duties round the clock.

Officials said that horticulture crops were damaged due to heavy rains in Rangareddy, Medak and Vikarabad districts where vegetables and ornamental flowers are grown.

Officials said that these rains are good for the kharif crop. Irrigation officials said that the catchment areas of River Godavari were receiving good inflows and water levels in the projects mainly SRSP, Sriram Sagar and Kaleshwaram were rising fast.

However, for the present there is no threat of overflowing or flooding as the projects are receiving moderate inflows. Panchayat Raj wing officials were visiting the villages which are close to rivers and canals to ascertain the flood situation from time to time.

No big damages or breaches at irrigation projects and canals were reported so far. Meanwhile, the weather office predicted heavy rain in the old Medak, Adilabad, Nizamabad and Karimnagar districts. Similarly, there will be moderate rain in the southern Telangana districts. NDRF teams have been placed in Warangal, Mulugu and Kothagudem to meet any emergency.