Torrential rains wreak havoc in Khammam, Warangal; one dead, standing crops affected
Continuous rainfall has severely impacted life in Khammam and Warangal districts, damaging crops, halting coal production, and claiming one life in Bhupalpally. A woman died after her house wall collapsed due to the rains. Maize, cotton and paddy crops suffered extensive damage, while SCCL mines faced waterlogging.
Khammam/Warangal: Heavy to moderate rainfall for the past few days have thrown life out of gear, damaged standing crops in erstwhile Khammam and Warangal districts and claimed the life of an ailing woman in Bhupalpally.
At Begaluru of Mahadevpur mandal in Bhupalpally, a woman Manda Lakshmi died on the spot after the wall of her house collapsed due to the rains. She had been confined to her bed for the past few days due to paralysis. Her husband Manda Durgaiah was seriously injured in the incident.
Farmers cultivating maize crops in Bayyaram agency suffered severe losses. Maize was being cultivated in 18,000 acres of land and the crop in about 1,000 acres was damaged due to the rains and strong winds. Similarly, cotton, paddy and maize in several mandals in erstwhile Khammam and Warangal districts were damaged.
Coal production in SCCL’s opencast mines in Bhupalpally, Kothagudem and Manuguru areas was affected as water logging occurred due to the rains. Removal of overburden has also come to a halt. Officials are making efforts to pump out rain water with large motors.
The water level in river Godavari was receding at Bhadrachalam but the river continued to flow above the first warning level at Bhadrachalam. At 7 pm the water level was at 44.10 feet with a discharge of 9.79 lakh cusecs.
Meanwhile, Bhadradri Temple’s Annadanasatram and padamatametlu area were inundated by the river water backwaters as officials failed to operate motors on time to pump out the water. As a result, annadanam was not carried out on Saturday.
A rainfall of 8.4 cm was recorded in Nallabelly mandal, 5.6 cm in Mahabubabad, 4 cm in Hanamkonda in Warangal while in Khammam 4.5 cm rainfall was recorded in Laxmidevipalli mandal, 3.8 in Tekulapally, 3.2 cm in Yellandu and 2.5 cm in Old Kothagudem.
