Sigh of relief as rains recede in several parts of Telangana

Inflows to major irrigation projects were also decreasing gradually, say officials

Hyderabad: The incessant rains that continued to lash the State for the last few days receded in several parts of the State, except the erstwhile Nizamabad district, bringing much needed relief to people to gear up for the 11-day Ganesh Chathurthi festival from Friday.

However, water levels in the Godavari at Bhadrachalam were rising slowly and reached 38.70 feet at 6 pm today. The water levels in many low-lying areas in the undivided Karimnagar district, which bore the brunt of the rains, were also receding gradually.

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Residents in several colonies were forced to wade through knee-deep water as heavy rains lashed the State since Sunday. This forced many to stay indoors. Since many parts of the State did not register rainfall on Wednesday, residents ventured out to indulge in festival shopping.

Markets were buzzing with activity as people thronged them for shopping ahead of the festival. Since inflows to the major irrigation projects were also decreasing gradually, irrigation officials were closely monitoring water levels and accordingly lifting the gates.

Authorities opened eight gates of Priyadarshini Jurala Project and releasing 85,111 cusecs of water downstream. At Sriram Sagar Project, officials opened 33 gates and releasing 4.04 lakh cusecs of water downstream. The project is receiving 3.50 lakh cusecs of inflows from the upstream areas.

Two gates of Mid Manair Dam (MMD) were opened to discharge 2,456 cusecs of water. The MMD is, presently, receiving 16,237 cusecs of inflows. Officials lifted four gates of Lower Manair Dam (LMD) and releasing 8,005 cusecs of water downstream. The LMD is now receiving 22,143 cusecs of inflows.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the southwest monsoon has been normal over Telangana. The Nizamabad district registered heavy rainfall on Wednesday when compared to other districts in the State.

Navipet in Nizamabad registered highest rainfall of 126.2 mm while Bodhan and Makloor recorded 119 mm and 110.2 mm rainfall respectively. Yedapalle registered 98.2 mm rainfall, the MeT department said in its daily weather bulletin. After Nizamabad, Jagtial registered heavy rains. Jagtial and Metapalle in the district registered 56 mm and 40.2 mm rainfall respectively.