In the wake of heavy rains across the state of Telangana, Chief Minister (CM) K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) on Tuesday, 7 September, asked the state authorities to place the official machinery on high alert and take all the required measures.
This, as several districts in the state have been witnessing heavy to very heavy and extremely heavy rains for the past two days.
The CM held a review meeting with Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar over the phone and said that the officials concerned should be on alert as tanks, lakes, and rivulets are flooding due to the heavy rains in rural areas and to ensure that people there are not put to any inconvenience.
According to a statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), the CM wants the Municipal Administration, Panchayat Raj, Roads and Buildings, and Electricity Departments to be alert about the situation.
CM KCR also said that people living in low-lying areas should be rehabilitated to alternative arrangements, and asked the NDRF and Disaster Management teams to be on standby in flood-prone zones.
Meanwhile, several parts in the Rajanna Siricilla district, Jagtial, Karimnagar, and Warangal districts have witnessed floods due to the heavy rains in the areas. As per reports, Nadikuda in Hanamkonda received 38 cm of rainfall.
In Warangal, authorities have announced red and orange alerts across districts.
Several tanks in the districts have flooded with heavy inflow from the upstream areas. Collectors in flood-prone districts are closely monitoring the situation, safety measures were issued to people living along low-lying areas and tanks.
A toll-free helpline was set up to look into the issues pertaining to rain havoc in Warangal and Hanamkonda collectorates.
Inundation in low-lying areas has been reported in Siricilla, Jammikunta of Karimnagar, Warangal, and several other places. Meanwhile, disaster management authorities have already roped in two National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams in Siricilla in view of the situation.
Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Hyderabad, on Tuesday issued a red alert for at least five districts namely Adilabad, Nirmal, Nizamabad, Jagtial, and Karimnagar district.
A yellow warning has been issued to Rajanna Sirisilla, Mancherial, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Komarambheem Asifabad, Peddapalle, Warangal (Urban), Warangal (Rural), Mahabubabad, Kamareddy districts as heavy to very heavy rain is very likely to occur at isolated places.
And heavy rain is very likely to occur at isolated places in Medak, Sangareddy, Medchal Malkajgiri, Hyderabad, Vikarabad, Rangareddy, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, Jangaon districts of Telangana.
(Published in an arrangement with The News Minute.)
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