Heavy rain in parts of Telangana, CM puts administration on alert

Hyderabad, Aug 27 (IANS) Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Wednesday placed the entire state administration on high alert as heavy rain has been lashing parts of Telangana since Tuesday night, inundating low-lying areas and snapping road connectivity to several villages.

Rivulets, lakes and ponds were overflowing due to heavy downpour, flooding the roads and villages in low-lying areas.

Heavy to very heavy rains in Medak and Sangareddy districts resulted in inundation of residential areas in some pockets. Few roads were damaged, disrupting the vehicular traffic.

Water was flowing over the Narayankhed-Kangti road, bringing the traffic to a halt. A culvert was washed away near Lakshmapur village in Kamareddy district.

Peddashankarampet in Medak district received the highest rainfall of 20.4 cm since last night. Tekmal recorded 20.1 and Ramayampet 17.9 cm of rainfall.

Heavy rains have dampened Ganesh Chaturthi festivities. The installation of idols in various towns and villages was affected by the downpour.

Moderate rain has also been lashing parts of Greater Hyderabad since Tuesday night. The rains disrupted Ganesh Chaturthi festivities here also.

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has directed the officials to evacuate those living in old houses and shift them to safer areas. The officials of the electricity department were ordered to take all precautionary measures in the supply of power, ensuring the safety of devotees visiting the Ganesh pandals during the festivities.

The Chief Minister directed Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Production Agency (HYDRAA), Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Fire Services and Police departments to coordinate with each other and prevent trouble for people during heavy rains.

In view of heavy inflows on low-lying causeways, culverts, rivulets and streams, the Chief Minister ordered the officials to stop the vehicle movement on such flooded areas.

The Chief Minister suggested that the Irrigation department take precautionary measures at ponds and other water bodies which are prone to breaches due to heavy inflows.

Since there is a high risk of epidemics, the Chief Minister also ordered the sanitation staff of the Municipal Corporations, Municipalities, and Gram Panchayats to be on high alert and remove stagnant water regularly.

The Medical and Health authorities were instructed to stockpile adequate medicines in the hospitals and organise medical camps in the flood-affected areas to prevent communicable diseases.

The IMD has forecast heavy rainfall at isolated places in Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Mulugu, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Hanumakonda, Jangaon, Karimnagar, Khammam, Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial, Nalgonda, Peddapalli, Suryapet, Warangal, Mahabubabad and Yadadri Bhuvanagiri districts of Telangana on Wednesday.

Thunderstorm accompanied by lightning and gusty winds (30-40 kmph) is very likely to occur at isolated places in all districts of Telangana, the IMD said in a bulletin.

--IANS

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