Heavy rains, floods wreak havoc in parts of Telangana

Hyderabad, Sep 2 (IANS) Heavy rains have wreaked havoc in parts of Telangana, inundating towns and villages and claimed at least 15 lives since Saturday, officials said.

Five persons were missing in various rain-related incidents in the state, which witnessed record rainfall at a few places under the impact of depression in the Bay of Bengal.

The rains and flood fury caused widespread damages in combined Khammam, Warangal and Nalgonda districts.

At least 15 residential colonies in Khammam town remained underwater on Monday due to the overflowing Munneru River.

More than 100 villages in Khammam district also remained submerged while authorities were continuing rescue and relief works in the worst-affected areas

Officials say heavy rainfall in a short span of time triggered the flash floods. At least, eight places received 40-52 centimetres of rainfall. Kakarvai in Khammam district recorded 52.19 centimetres of rainfall.

Overflowing lakes, ponds, tanks and streams inundated villages and low-lying areas in town. Munnery River, a tributary of Krishna, witnessed unprecedented floods, leading to the inundation of residential colonies in Khammam town.

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy were supervising rescue and relief operations in Khammam.

With the Met Office issuing a red alert for a few districts, the government declared a holiday for all educational institutions as a precautionary measure

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Monday visited the Command and Control Room in Hyderabad to monitor the rescue and relief operation.

He held a meeting with top officials to review the situation and assess the damages caused by heavy rains and floods. Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and Industry Minister D. Sridhar Babu attended the meeting.

Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari, Director General of Police Jitender and other senior officials were also present.

After the review, the Chief Minister will leave for Khammam by road to visit the flood-affected areas.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday spoke to the Chief Minister over the phone and assured him all the help from the Centre in tackling the situation.

Earlier, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also spoke to Revanth Reddy and enquired about the flood situation.