Telangana: 16 Dead in Rain-Related Incidents, CM Urges Centre to Declare Floods as National Calamity

Hyderabad: At least 16 people lost their lives in various rain-related incidents as torrential rains lashed Telangana and the state government on Monday put the damage at Rs 5,000 crore as per preliminary estimates and sought an immediate assistance of Rs 2,000 crore from the Centre.

The incessant rainfall caused inundation of low-lying areas, damage to agricultural crops and disruption of the state's rail and road links with neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who announced an ex-gratia of Rs five lakh each to the kin of those who were killed in the rain-related incidents, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the rain-hit areas and to declare the floods as a national calamity.

An official release quoted Revanth Reddy as saying that the damage was to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore as per preliminary estimates.

The CM held a meeting with ministers and officials at Suryapet as part of his visit to rain-hit areas.

State IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu told reporters that full details on the loss of life and others would be known after reports on damage are received.

The state government will submit a comprehensive report on the flood damage to the Centre, the release said.

Meanwhile, the flood-hit areas of Khammam presented a scene of extensive damage as household items were washed away and some items carried away by water were stuck to the gates of houses.

Residents of flood-affected areas narrated their woes to state Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao, who visited them.

In view of the forecast of rains in Adilabad, Nizamabad and Nirmal districts on Monday and Tuesday, the Chief Minister, who held a meeting with officials in Hyderabad earlier in the day, directed the Collectors and other officials of these districts to be alert and to shift the people in low-lying areas to relief camps if necessary.

He suggested setting up control rooms in district Collectorates to monitor the situation.

Officials informed the CM that crops in over 1.5 lakh acres suffered damage as per preliminary estimates.

Revanth Reddy instructed officials to enumerate the crop damage so that ex-gratia can be announced expeditiously.

The Chief Minister directed that houses under the 'Indiramma' housing scheme for the poor be sanctioned for those whose houses collapsed due to the heavy rains.

He also directed that issues related to traffic, supply of power and water and also sanitation be addressed in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation without any delay.

An official of the Secunderabad-headquartered South Central Railway (SCR) said due to heavy rains and waterlogging over the tracks at several locations on the SCR network, as many as 432 trains were cancelled and 13 trains were partially cancelled. He said 139 trains were diverted till Monday afternoon.

A portion of gravel under the railway track near Kesamudram was earlier washed away due to floodwaters.

Restoration works were underway, he said.

SCR General Manager Arun Kumar Jain and other Railway officials reached the site and were monitoring the restoration work.

The SCR official said train services are expected to resume on the Kazipet-Vijayawada section by the evening of September 3.

However, the restoration work may get delayed if rainfall and flood situation continues, he added.

Due to incessant rains in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, flooding and breaches were reported in Kazipet-Vijayawada section and five trains were stranded.

Over 7,500 passengers from these trains were brought to the nearest Railway stations in state-run RTC buses on Sunday evening and special trains were arranged to take them to their respective destinations, he added.

A large number of lorries were stranded on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada National Highway near Kodada as water was flowing on the road. The officials urged those travelling to Vijayawada to use the Narkatpalli-Addanki highway as an alternative.

Meanwhile, in the affected areas in Khammam, following floods in rivulet Munneru, household items were washed away and some items carried away by waters stuck to the gates of houses. As water levels receded, the anguished victims began cleaning their homes and removing the slush.

Some residents said their valuables, including documents and academic certificates, were washed away. Some complained that they had no drinking water and food and that they did not get any help.

The Agriculture Minister told reporters that workers and also vehicles like tractors in the district are being deployed in Khammam to clean the roads and to restore electricity.

The district administration has been directed to distribute essential items to those affected by the floods, he said.

The Met Centre here said heavy rain is very likely to occur at isolated places in Adilabad, Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Nirmal, Nizamabad, Jagtial, Sangareddy, Medak, Kamareddy districts till 8.30 am on September 3.

It also said thunderstorms accompanied with lightning and gusty winds (30-40 kmph) are very likely to occur at isolated places in many districts of Telangana during this period. It issued a yellow alert for this forecast.

Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Revanth Reddy on Sunday and promised to help the state on behalf of the Centre.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Republic and is published from a syndicated feed.)