Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao sounded an alert as heavy rains triggered flood situation in some parts of the state and also directed the concerned officials to be vigilant.
Several tanks and canals were overflowing on Saturday due to the heavy rains lashing the state under the influence of a low-pressure area off the Bay of Bengal.
Parts of Warangal town was inundated due to incessant rain. The local authorities launched rescue and relief operations. They shifted people from affected areas to the relief camps.
Meanwhile, 14 farmers were rescued by a helicopter of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Jayashankar Bhupalapally district. The farmers were stuck in floodwater in Kundanpally village when they were on their fields to pump out excess water.
Following a request by the state government, the Indian Air Force (IAF) sent a helicopter to airlift the farmers.
Meanwhile, the chief minister on Saturday reviewed the situation in the state at a high-level meeting held at official residence Pragati Bhavan.
He spoke to Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, Director General of Police Mahender Reddy and the ministers.
He conducted district wise review of the situation and made certain suggestions. He also asked the officials to set up two control rooms in Hyderabad.
KCR instructed the ministers to stay put in their respective districts, coordinate with the collectors and police officials on a regular basis. The CM said since several tanks were filled to the brim, they may breach, roads may be inundated and low-lying areas may be flooded.
He said the united Karimnagar and Warangal districts have recorded the highest rainfall and tanks in these districts were filled to their capacity. He said officials should be more alert in these two districts.
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On the instructions from the CM, the officials have kept two helicopters ready and they will be utilised to rescue people stranded in the floodwater.
Along with a helicopter owned by the state, a chopper from the military was also kept ready for use.
Meanwhile, met officials said districts like Mulugu, Bhadradri-Kothagudem and Jayashankar-Bhupalpally received rainfall of two months in just two days.
Meanwhile, the Godavari river in Telangana crossed the first level warning on Saturday and overflowed into the temple town of Bhadrachalam, after several parts of the state experienced incessant rainfall, M. V. Reddy, Bhadradri Kothagudem District Collector informed.
"Due to heavy rains from the past 4 days, the Godavari river flood level has been rising gradually. At 45 feet, it has crossed the first flood warning level of 43 feet. The people of nearby zones are requested to be vigilant and the sectoral and respective zone authorities should take relief measures in the flood-prone areas," he said.
He also advised the Bhadrachalam sub-collector office to stay alert for calls to the control room numbers and advised relief workers to evacuate people from flood-hit areas to rehabilitation centers.
Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy to very heavy rain with extremely heavy spells in J. Bhupalapally, Mulugu, Warangal, Karimnagar, Peddapalli, Mancherial districts on Saturday and Sunday.
Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar held a teleconference with the district collectors and took stock of the arrangements put in place for handling the situation arising out of incessant rains and floods in the state over the past few days.
He asked the collectors to be on high alert as there were indications that the rains were likely to continue for a few more days. He asked all the officials to remain in headquarters, work in close coordination and ensure that no loss of lives or property takes place in the state.
He cautioned the district collectors to be very vigilant in respect of tanks across the railway lines as well as with regard to those tanks which are vulnerable and likely to be breached.
Chief Secretary urged the District Collectors to set up a round the clock control room in their districts to maintain a close watch. He informed that a state control room (040-23450624) is also set up and operationalised immediately.
( with inputs from ANI and IANS)
