JOIN USWith flood situation in Andhra Pradesh turning grim on Friday, the state government has sought help from the Indian Air Force to ferry people to safe places and distribute food.
The Godavari river is flowing close to the danger mark in the holy city of Bhadrachalam while incessant rains lashed the northern Telangana, east and west Godavari districts for the fourth day, inundating dozens of villages and damaging standing crops. Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force, each comprising 18 members, have already left for Khammam district, where Godavari is in a spate.
“A helicopter has already been pressed into service to distribute food packets packed here under the supervision of the Hyderabad collectorate. In all, we have asked for four helicopters from the IAF and they granted them. They will be used to lift stranded people from the inundated areas of Adilabad, Nizamaad, Khammam and Karimnagar,” said Revenue Minister Raghuveera Reddy.
The government is organising 14 camps in different districts. It is ready to postpone the panchayat elections in the affected areas if rains continue on Saturday.
The rains under the impact of low pressure wrecked havoc in the Telangana region, as several villages were cut off due to overflowing rivers, rivulets, tanks and streams. Crops spread over 10,000 acres were damaged in Adilabad district. Bus services were suspended between Hyderabad and Karimnagar as a part of the road in Karimnagar district was washed away.
With incessant rain and huge inflow from upstream, Godavari is in a spate. It has already touched the danger mark at Ramannagudem in Warangal district and Bhadrachalam in Khammam district. A third flood warning was issued at Bhadrachalam as water level rose sharply to 53.4 feet on Friday. It is expected to reach 60 feet by night. More than 60 villages in 16 mandals in Khammam lost link with the main land.