Heavy downpour hits life in Khammam

Khammam: Normal life was hit hard in erstwhile Khammam district with the heavy downpour lashing the district since Monday night. In a rain related incident at Tallada, as many as 15 goats were killed when a house collapsed due to rains. At Penuballi, one person, Mallela Ravi, was washed away while he was trying to […]

Khammam: Normal life was hit hard in erstwhile Khammam district with the heavy downpour lashing the district since Monday night.

In a rain related incident at Tallada, as many as 15 goats were killed when a house collapsed due to rains. At Penuballi, one person, Mallela Ravi, was washed away while he was trying to cross the surplus weir of Rathoni tank.

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Sathupalli mandal in Khammam district received an unprecedented 18.6 cm rainfall during the past 24 hours while Vemsoor and Kallur mandals recorded 17.8 cm and 16.6 cm rainfall during the period.

In Kothagudem district Mulkalapalli and Aswaraopet recorded 11 cm and 10.9 cm rainfall while Chandrugonda mandal received 9.4 cm rainfall since yesterday night.

Sathupalli town was fully inundated with the rainwater. The same was the situation in mandals like Madhira and Thallada. Vehicular traffic was affected on main thoroughfares in the majority of the towns and highways at many places due to flooding and water logging.

Officials lifted two gates of Taliperu Medium Irrigation Project near Cherla to discharge 3,830 cusecs of excess water. At Kinnerasani project the officials have lifted four gates to discharge 4,000 cusecs of water downstream.

Meanwhile, the water level in river Godavari at Bhadrachalam was gradually increasing with the downpour in the river’s catchment area and as its tributaries. At 8 am the water level was recorded to be 18.5 feet, officials informed.

In both the districts, there has been a steep fall in daytime temperatures as well. Low lying areas, residential colonies were affected with water logging and rainwater entered into the houses. Coal production was halted in SCCL open cast mines in both the districts.

The District Collectors of Khammam and Kothagudem, RV Karnan and MV Reddy have alerted the mandal level officials and told them to monitor the situation and control rooms were set up to offer assistance to affected people.

Collector visits affected places

Kothagudem Collector Reddy inspected newly built double bedroom houses that were inundated with rainwater at Tippanpalli in Chandrugonda mandal. He directed the officials to prepare estimates to build a compound wall around the housing complex.

He also inspected breach in the Vengalaraya tank in the mandal and told the mandals to launch immediate efforts to stop the water flow into the fields nearby and to strengthen the bund.

Steps were launched to strengthen the bunds of five tanks in Pinapaka mandal and one in Mulakalapalli mandal as the bunds were weakened due to the rains and facing the threat of breaching, he said.

A portion of main road at Mulakalpalli was washed away. Kothagudem RDO Swarnalatha inspected the spot and instructed officials to erect barricades covering the damaged road.

MLA Sandra reviews situation

Sathupalli MLA Sandra Venkata Veeraiah reviewed the rain situation on Monday and asked the revenue officials to take measures to help the affected people. He said large extent of agriculture fields were flooded with rainwater and tanks were breached at many places.

The MLA spoke to the family members of M Ravi who was washed away in floods in Penuballi mandal. He directed the officials to intensify the search operations for the missing man.

DRF put to work

A 20-member Disaster Response Force (DRF) established by Khammam Municipal Corporation has been put to work to clear the clogged drains and clear water logging in low lying areas.

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