Several Highways Closed Due To Flooding In Andhra, Death Toll Reaches 33

Mumbai: Amid heavy rains in Andhra Pradesh, the Chennai-Kolkata National Highway-16, as well as the Chennai grand trunk rail routes, remained cut off leaving hundreds of people and traffic stranded in the state, as the Penna river in spate caused heavy destruction.

The death toll in rain-related incidents in different districts of Andhra Pradesh touched 33 as more bodies were retrieved from the flooded streams and at least 12 people were reported missing.

The state government ordered free distribution of 25 kg rice, one kg red gram dal, one litre of edible oil, a kg each of potatoes and onion to the flood-affected families.

According to the South-Central Railway, more than 100 express trains were cancelled because of the damage caused to the railway tracks near Nellore and 29 more diverted. The Chennai-Mumbai rail route that runs through the Kadapa district also remained shut as the tracks got washed away near Nandalur.

Hundreds of passengers were stuck in the Nellore RTC bus station as bus services were disrupted. Vehicular traffic coming from Srikalahasti was stopped and diverted, officials said.

Meanwhile, as a breach started to develop in the Rayalacheruvu lake, a fresh flood scared in temple-town Tirupati and surrounding villages. The Chittoor district authorities have directed people living in 20 villages to immediately move to safer locations.

Senior IAS officer P S Pradyumna, deputed to Chittoor district to oversee flood relief operations, told reporters, “The situation is grim, so we have forewarned the people to move to rehabilitation camps. While the tank capacity is just 0.2 tmc ft, it is now filled with 0.9 tmc ft. Every effort was being made to plug the breach and avoid any major calamity.”

As per the government, 2,007 houses were damaged in four flood-hit districts, the highest being 911 in Chittoor, causing a loss of Rs 5.18 crore.

According to government data, crops on hundreds of acres were destroyed, heads of cattle washed away and tens of houses in villages were reduced to rubble as flash floods due to a breach of the Annamayya project’s earthen bund on the Cheyyeru river caused havoc.

The State Disaster Management Authority said more than two lakh cusecs of floodwater flowed out of the Somasila reservoir in SPS Nellore district, leading to the deluge.

Kadapa district villages, including Togurupeta and Mandapalli, had to take the burnt in the wake of the devastation due to the breach in the Annamayya project’s earthen bund.

The Pincha project upstream breached, letting out all floodwater into Annamayya while water from Seshachalam too came gushing in because of very heavy rainfall, resulting in widespread destruction in 10 villages.

“It was nothing but gross mismanagement on the part of the administration. Didn’t they know about the flood when there was such heavy rain? Why were we not even alerted about the coming danger before it destroyed us?” angry villagers of Mandapalli and Togurupeta questioned.

Except for some kind-hearted volunteers, the administration did not come to their help in any way, they lamented. “Ours is the first village right under Annamayya project. We lost our houses, cattle, belongings and everything. Some of our villagers were killed. There is no place for us to go,” the surviving residents of Togurupeta, a hamlet of about 500 people, said.

The only shelter zone for these hapless villagers is the temple of the local goddess, which somehow remained intact. Mandapalli presented a heartrending sight as families were seen drowning in the flood.

Kadapa district Collector Vijaya Rama Raju told PTI that the dam breach was the major factor that caused such a major calamity. “The river course changed but the dam breach was what caused the real destruction. We still moved some 600 people to safety,” he said. “Yes, it was a major calamity, the scale of which could not be imagined,” Raju added.

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