Telangana: Rains hit normal life in Khammam, Kothagudem; lowlying areas inundated

Widespread rains for the last two days in Kothagudem and Khammam districts disrupted normal life, coal production and transportation

Kothagudem: Widespread rains for the last two days in Kothagudem and Khammam districts disrupted normal life, coal production and transportation on Wednesday.

At Bhadrachalam, Annadanasatram, Vista complex and other areas around Bhadradri Temple were inundated. Rainwater stood at knee-deep level for sometime as officials have closed river Godavari embankment sluice gates to prevent the river water entering the temple town.

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District Collector Jitesh V Patil visited Bhadrachalam town to take stock of the situation. He told the media that the news reports of Godavari entering the town were false and the water logging in the town was caused due to heavy downpour.

The rainwater was pumped into the river using seven electric and two diesel pumps to clear the water logging in the town. Sluice gates were also lifted as the flood inflow into the river was normal, the Collector said.

The Kalyana Mandapam of the 100-year-old Sri Kusuma Harinadha Baba Temple on top of the hillock, close to Bhadradri Temple, sank due to heavy rains, which damaged its basement.

Officials were taking steps to prevent the mandapam from falling down. In Kothagudem town, rainwater entered into houses at LIC office, old Kothagudem, Vidyanagar Colony among other areas. An old house collapsed at Marwadi camp in old Kothagudem, fortunately no injuries were reported after the incident.

As Guntivagu overflowed in Chunchupally mandal the area around Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Centre was inundated preventing vehicles to reach the hospital. A doctor had to treat a pregnant woman in an auto-rickshaw on the road near the hospital.

Classrooms were inundated at Government Primary School at Tippanapalli in Chandrugonda mandal. Panchayat raj DE Saidulu Reddy and MPDO Ashok visited the school.

They said repairs would be carried out to prevent water from standing in the school. Rainwater inundated houses at Oddugudem and Jagannathapuram villages in Paloncha mandal.

Transportation on Kothagudem-Vijayawada, Kothagudem-Khammam was affected while several villages in Vemsoor and Mulkalapalli mandal in Kothagudem and Konijerla mandal in Khammam district were cut off as streams were overflowing.

Coal production came to a standstill in SCCL’s opencast mines in Kothagudem area due to rains.

From 8.30 am to 12 noon on Wednesday, a heavy rainfall of 7.5 cm was recorded in Chunchupally mandal while Bhadrachalam and Chandrugonda mandals received 6 cm rainfall. Laxmidevipalli and Annapureddypalle received 5.5 cm rainfall while Kothagudem received 4.2 cm rainfall.

Officials lifted four gates of Kinnerasani reservoir at Paloncha to release 20, 000 cusecs of excess water. At Taliperu project in Cherla mandal 24 gates were lifted to discharge 52, 912 cusecs of excess water.