Heavy downpour lashes Krishna, Guntur, leaves farmers of Andhra Pradesh worried

 VIJAYAWADA/GUNTUR: A brief spell of rain that lashed Vijayawada on Tuesday came as a breather for the denizens who have been reeling under hot weather conditions for the last few weeks. The heavy hour-long rainfall in and around the city threw the traffic out of gear on many roads, including the busy Pinnamaneni Polyclinic Road, Jammi Chettu Centre, Shunnabbattila Centre, Krishna Lanka, Maruthi Nagar, One Town, Vidyadharapuram and Kabela Centre.

The municipal and electricity officials said they received numerous complaints regarding water stagnation at various places. Power supply got snapped in several localities across the city for a while and was restored within an hour. The rains also lashed Hanuman Junction, Nandiwada, Gudlavalleru, Gudivada, Gollapudi and Gannavaram localities in Krishna district.The showers followed by gusty winds uprooted trees and electrical poles in several areas. As a precautionary measure, Transco officials disconnected power supply in and around Hanuman Junction temporarily following the heavy downpour.

According to preliminary information, the rain and strong winds damaged 20,000 bags of paddy in Gollapudi Market Yard and plantain and maize crops in Uddandarayunipalem in Guntur district. The sudden rain also damaged mango orchards at Nuzvid of Krishna district. The mango growers, who were eagerly looking forward to good yield, deplored that the untimely rain shattered their hopes of good harvest. A banana farm, of 200 acre, was devastated due to heavy gale and rain at Uddandarayanipalem of Tulluru mandal of Guntur.

However, the sudden change of weather made many residents happy who were seen merrymaking at Prakasam Barrage, Punnami Ghat and Mahatma Gandhi Road.

Rain lashes EG

Heavy downpour lashed East Godavari on Tuesday and brought the district to a standstill. Many roads in Kakinada were overflown with drain water and public transport were stopped due to the rain. Not only commuters, but the crops was likely to have been impacted too. Farmers in the district were fearing the downpour could have affected their produce. The Agriculture department is expecting 13.36 metric tonnes of yield during the Rabi season. The officials had set up arrangements for sales and marketing of the crops in the district and around 40 per cent was already harvested. However, Tuesday's downpour might have impacted the remaining crop. The farmers of the mango crop, which are grown in Sankavaram, Gokavaram and Agency areas, were apprehensive the rain could cause them loss and also hike the cost of the seasonal fruit in the market.