Telangana: Prohibitory orders at Bogatha waterfalls, heavy rains affects coal production

Heavy rains triggered flooding in Mulugu, Mahabubabad, Kothagudem and Khammam, bringing Bogatha waterfalls alive while disrupting coal production, submerging homes and hostels, and leaving at least one dead. Authorities imposed curbs at tourist sites and deployed rescue teams across vulnerable areas.

Warangal/Khammam: Heavy rainfall across Mulugu, Mahabubabad, Kothagudem and Khammam districts on Wednesday brought the Bogatha waterfalls roaring back to life, while also triggering flooding, disrupting coal production, and claiming at least one life.

The Bogatha waterfalls in the Chikupalli forests of Mulugu district, which had remained dry for months, were in full spate following heavy rains in upstream regions of Mulugu and Chhattisgarh. In view of the surge, police issued prohibitory orders at the site for the next three days, restricting tourist entry as a precautionary measure.

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Several parts of Mulugu recorded heavy to extremely heavy rainfall. Venkatapuram mandal saw the highest rainfall of over 30 cm, followed by 18.4 cm in Eturunagaram, 15.8 cm in Mangapet, 7.2 cm in Wajedu and 6.4 cm in Mallampally.

In Wajedu mandal, a man identified as T Venu died after being struck by lightning in Peddagollapadu.

Panchayat Raj Minister Seethakka visited Pasara-Tadwai to assess the flood situation at Gundlavagu. She urged people to dial the Mulugu collectorate’s emergency toll-free number 1800-425-7109 for assistance.

In Kothagudem district, overflowing streams such as Kodipunjulavagu, Metlavagu and Katlavagu inundated several low-lying colonies in Manugur town, including Ashok Nagar, Adarsha Nagar, Srisri Nagar and Bhagat Singh Nagar Colony. Students from the ST boys and girls hostels were evacuated to safer locations.

Coal production in Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) opencast mines in Kothagudem, Manugur, Yellandu and Bhupalpally areas was disrupted due to persistent rain. Manugur recorded 12.8 cm of rainfall, followed by 10 cm in Karakagudem and 6 cm in Koyagudem in Tekulapally mandal. Several mandals in Khammam district also reported moderate to heavy rain.

Khammam Collector Anudeep Durishetty said a control room was set up with toll-free number 1077 and staff deployed in three shifts for disaster management operations.

Kothagudem SP B Rohith Raju said five Disaster Response and Rescue Force (DDRF) teams were deployed round-the-clock. He appealed to the public to dial 100 for immediate assistance during emergencies.