Heavy rain, floods wreak havoc in Telangana

Hyderabad: Incessant rain and floods continued to wreak havoc in parts of Telangana on Wednesday as several villages and some towns were inundated by overflowing water bodies.

The North Telangana region was reeling under the monsoon fury with water flowing over roads, cutting off remote villages while normal life remained paralysed.

Inundation of villages and parts of some towns in the worst affected districts of Adilabad, Nirmal, Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial and Jagtiyal have forced hundreds of families to move to safer places.

The heavy rainfall and floods have led to incidents of house collapse, disrupted electricity supply and caused widespread damage to crops.

Godavari and Krishna, the two major rivers flowing through the state, and their tributaries were in spate while streams, canals, lakes, tanks and other water bodies were overflowing due to incessant rain for nearly a week.

All major, medium and small projects on both the major rivers were receiving heavy inflows. Authorities are releasing the water downstream from almost all the projects.

Nirmal district collector Musharraf Ali Faruqui said Kadam reservoir was receiving highest ever inflows. Over 3,000 families were shifted to safe locations across 12 villages. The collector said many parts of the district were receiving extremely high rainfall and urged people to avoid all low-lying areas.

Villages around Kadam project across the Kadam River, a tributary of Godavari, are being vacated as the water level is likely to rise further. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao spoke to forest minister Indrakaran Reddy over phone. The minister along with officials visited the project to review the situation.

The project is receiving heavy inflows from upstream of the Kadam River and also Sri Ram Sagar Project (SRSP) across Godavari. Out of 18 gates, the irrigation officials have opened 17 gates to release the water while one gate has stopped functioning.

People from GNR Colony in Siddapur near Nirmal town also left for safe places as nearby stream Swarna Vagu was overflowing.

Low-lying areas of Basara town in the same district were also inundated.

In Mancherial, pregnant women and children from government-run Mata-Shishu Arogya Kendram near Godavari were shifted to another place

Residential areas in Dharmapuri town of Jagtiyal district were also inundated. Flood water entered into houses, forcing many people to move to safer places.

Several villages were inundated in Komaram Bheem Asifabad district. Low-lying areas in Sirpur constituency were under water due to overflowing streams.

Sri Ram Sagar Project in Nizamabad district was also receiving massive inflows. The irrigation department has lifted all 26 gates to let out the water.

Godavari was in spate at Kaleshwaram in Bhupalapally. Pushkar ghats were inundated and even the road was under water. Officials said the river was flowing above the second danger mark.

At Bhadrachalam town in Bhadradri Kothagudem district, Godavari continued to flow above the second danger mark. People from low-lying colonies were shifted to relief camps.

Normal life remained affected in Hyderabad and surrounding districts due to rains. Twin reservoirs Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar on the outskirts of Hyderabad continued to receive heavy inflows from catchment areas. The flood water is being released into the Musi River, which flows through the city.

Hussain Sagar lake in the heart of the city also filled to the brim. The authorities were letting out water through outer channels into the Musi River. People in areas along the channels and Musi River have already been alerted.