Rains lash Telangana, Andhra Pradesh; normal life hit in Hyderabad

Hyderabad/Vijayawada: Incessant rains for the second consecutive day on Tuesday affected normal life in Hyderabad and some towns in Telangana and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

Some low-lying areas in Hyderabad were inundated while roads were flooded, causing traffic jams.

Motorists were caught in long traffic snarls in busy commercial centres like Abids, Koti, Dilsukhnagar, Basheerbagh, Lakdi Ka Pul, Khairatabad, Punjagutta, Ameerpet and Mehdipatnam.

Vehicular traffic also came to a standstill on Miyapur-Kukatpally stretch. Trees were uprooted at a couple of places, affecting the movement of vehicles.

With heavy inflows, the water level increased in Hussain Sagar, the lake which divides twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. As the water level reached 513.10 feet against Full Tank Level (FTL) of 513.41 feet, authorities opened the gates of outflow channels. People residing along the `nalas` (drains) have been alerted.

The heaviest rains of this season also increased levels in 169 lakes and tanks in and around the city. The levels in 10 lakes have reached danger mark.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) opened emergency help desk to attend the complaints about water logging. GHMC officials said the citizens may call 100 or 21111111.

Weathermen said heavy rains continued to lash parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh under the influence of a low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal.

Heavy rains in Khammam district of Telangana affected coal production in state-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited. Officials said water entered open cast mines in Kothagudem and Sattupalli, affecting the coal production.

Vamsadharana and Nagavali rivers in north coastal Andhra Pradesh were in spate due to huge inflows from neighbouring Odisha.

Irrigation projects in both the Telugu-speaking states were also receiving inflows from catchment areas. Rivulets, streams, lakes, tanks and other water bodies were overflowing.

Heavy rains also threw normal life out of gear in Vijayawada. Low-lying areas were inundated, causing hardships to people. The downpour led to traffic jams in several busy areas in and around the city, including the road which connects Vijayawada to Amaravati, the upcoming state capital of Andhra Pradesh.

For the second time this season, rain water entered Andhra Pradesh Secretariat at Velagapudi in Amaravati. The Secretariat building was leaking at a few points and affected offices.

Municipal Administration Minister P. Narayana, however, claimed that there are no defects in the SEcretariat`s construction.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that heavy rain at a few places and very heavy rain to extremely heavy rain at isolated places is "very likely to occur" in all the districts of coastal Andhra Pradesh over the next two days.

Heavy to very heavy rains at isolated places in all districts of Telangana also are very likely during the period, the IMD said.