No respite from rain in Rayalaseema

KURNOOL/KADAPA/ANANTAPUR/TIRUPATI : Heavy rain continues to lash Kurnool, Anantapur, Kadapa and Chittoor districts, disrupting normal life. Road connectivity in several areas of Rayalaseema is in disorder and overflowing streams have inundated many low-lying areas.  A bus en route to Bengaluru from Mantralayam in Kurnool district got stuck in the middle of a bridge over an overflowing stream in Chinnahuthi. After three gruelling hours, the bus finally made it to the other end of the bridge safely.

In another incident, an APSRTC bus got stuck on the causeway near Bahudha river in T. Sundupalle mandal of Kadapa district. The driver had to halt the bus when its front tires got bogged down in the flood waters. The 15 passengers onboard the vehicle cried for help when it stopped with a jerk. Construction workers engaged in repairing the bridge immediately rushed to the spot and with help of a tractor pulled the bus and its passengers to safety.

Meanwhile, 13 farmhands including 8 women in Gangenahalli village of Gonegandla mandal  got marooned in flood water with nearby streams overflowing and surrounding the area while they were returning home from their fields. Police rushed to the location and after much effort, rescued them all using rafts. Though the fury of the Handri has decreased in Kurnool city and life is limping back to normal, streams and other water bodies in Pathikonda, Chippagiri, Aspari, Sanjamala, Maddikera, Banaganapalle, Alur and Kodmuru continue to overflow thanks to heavy downpour in the region. A team of NDRF personnel have been rushed to the district.

Pathikonda has received 13 cm of rain — the highest in the district.  Road connectivity between Aluru and Bellary has been completely disrupted. The situation is no different in Anantapur district, where low-lying areas have been submerged. Anumpalle and Nemmalapalle tanks in Pamidi mandal have breached and water entered nearby villages, forcing people to vacate the places in a hurry. The elderly were seen being carried away on cots by the youth of the village. Ropes were used to ensure that no one got washed away in the flood waters.

Around 110 families have been temporarily moved to government schools and shadi khanas. With flood and rain water eroding the bunds of the railway tracks in Pamidi, traffic between Guntakal and Anantapur was stopped in the morning and diverted in the evening.Anantapur MP JC Diwakar Reddy, Guntakal MLA Jitender Goud and incharge Collector T K Ramamani visited flood-affected areas and supervised rescue and rehabilitation efforts. According to officials Pamidi and nearby areas recived 11.9 cm of rain. Road connectivity between Guntakal and Bellary of Karnataka got cut off.  On the other hand Chagallu Reservoir seems to be getting copious inflows. 

In Kadapa district, Bahuda and Kundu rivers are in spate. Road connectivity between Proddatur-Allagadda, Rajupalem-Vengayapalle, Ayyavaripalli-Rajupalem and Tondaladinne-Tanguturu villages are cut off due to overflowing streams.  Heavy downpour continued to lash several areas in Proddatur town.  

The Bahuda in Thavanampalle mandal breached its banks and cut off road connectivity between Aragonda, Penumur and Irala mandals. With copious inflows into NTR Reservoir, all gates of the project were lifted. People in the villages downstream of the project were evicted beforehand as a precautionary measure.

Srisailam dam near full, two crest gates lifted 
Srisailam Reservoir on Thursday got filled to the brim attaining a water level of 884.6 feet against the Full Reservoir Level of 885 feet. Dam authorities have lifted two crest gates of spillway 10 feet high to let out water at the discharge rate of 55,782 cusecs downstream of the river. Minister for Water Resources Devineni Umamaheswara Rao along with senior officials of the department performed puja at the dam before lifting the crest gates to release the water down the spillway. 
The water will reach Nagarjunasagar project.