Rains lash State: Three dead, farmers hit again

Crops were damaged in some places while paddy kept at procurement centres were drenched, while harvested paddy on several acres that was to be shifted to the procurement centres too was affected by the rains.

Hyderabad: Heavy rains accompanied with lightning and gusty winds struck at many places leaving two persons dead and a few others injured, besides uprooting a few electricity poles and trees at different places on Sunday.

Crops were damaged in some places while paddy kept at procurement centres were drenched, while harvested paddy on several acres that was to be shifted to the procurement centres too was affected by the rains.

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With Lok Sabha elections to be conducted on Monday, officials and polling staff faced difficulties in shifting the equipment at a few places. Kiran Kumar, a 29-year-old farmer was struck dead by lightning while he was working in a farm, while five others sustained injuries at Gimma village in Jainath mandal.

They were rushed to the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS)-Adilabad. In another incident, 52-year-old Palvancha Sriramulu and his grandson Vishal were killed after lightning struck them at Ramojipally village in Pedda Shankarampet mandal on Sunday.

They had rushed to the fields to cover the harvested paddy with tarpaulins. Due to the thunderstorm, a huge tree got uprooted on NH-25 in Narayankhed, Sangareddy district, resulting in disruption of traffic movement. Similarly, a tree collapsed on the Madduru-Musthyala stretch, affecting traffic flow

. An electricity pole got uprooted at Gagillpuram, interrupting power supply. At a few places, tents installed by polling staff collapsed due to heavy rains. Officials faced inconvenience in shifting the polling equipment at Kataram, Mahadevpur and other mandals in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district.

According to Telangana State Development Planning Society, the highest rainfall of 57 mm, till 7 pm, was recorded at Sirpur, Kumram Bheem Asifabad, followed by 51.3 mm at Mukthapur in Sangareddy and 45.8 mm at Patha Rajampeta in Kamareddy.

The Met department said thunderstorms accompanied with lightning and gusty winds (30 to 40 kmph) were very likely to occur at isolated places in Adilabad, KB Asifabad, Mancherial, Nirmal, Nizamabad, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Khammam, Nalgonda, Suryapet, Rangareddy, Hyderabad, Medchal Malkajigiri, Vikarabad, Sangareddy, Kamareddy, Mahabubnagar, Nagarkurnool, Wanaparthi, Narayanpet and Jogulamba Gadwal districts on Monday.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy inquired about the damages caused by strong winds, rain and lightning in several districts including Adilabad, Medak and Sangareddy.

The Chief Minister ordered the Collectors of the rain-hit districts and State level higher officials to be on high alert after the Indian Meteorological Department already warned of heavy rains. He expressed grief over the death of two people succumbing to lightning at Pedda Shankarampeta mandal in Medak district.

The State government would extend all support to the families of deceased, he said, instructing the officials to provide better treatment to the injured in the lightning incidents.

He appealed the farmers not to worry in case their paddy stocks got drenched due to rains at the procurement centres. “Officials have been asked to buy the paddy stocks (with moisture content), which are piled up at the procurement centres,” Revanth Reddy said.