Heavy rains pound Warangal district; 3 killed

Warangal: Heavy rains over the last four days have wreaked havoc in Warangal district, killing three persons and prompting authorities to shift 6,000 people from flooded areas, officials said today.

The showers inundated 50 colonies in the city and paralysed normal life. District administration shifted about 6,000 people from submerged areas and put them in relief camps at Amaravathinagar, Sammaiahnagar, Pragathingar, Sai Nagar, Sagarashikunta and Bhagavandas Nagar among other places, they said.

About 56 tanks had been breached and about 300 hectares of crops damaged. Around 57 concrete houses have been damaged, while 560 houses suffered partial destruction, officials said.

The heavy rains have claimed three lives. Two of them were washed away by rapid floodwaters. They were identified as Shabbir Ali, a Village Revenue Officer and resident of Raghunathapally, and B Krishnaiah of Madanapeta village, they said.

The third person K Saraiah, a resident of Medapally village, was electrocuted amid rains, they added.

District Collector Vakati Karuna along with other officials today visited the affected areas and asked officials to take necessary steps to shift people in relief camps.

She later viewed the situation with district officials in the Collectorate office.

Karuna asked them to be alert as more heavy rains have been predicted in the next two days.

In the evening, Deputy Chief Minister Kadiyam Srihari accompanied by Warangal Mayor Nannapuneni Narender and local MLA A Ramesh toured some of the rain-ravaged localities.

Many roads had been damaged in the district. Roads from Warangal to Karimnagar and Khammam Routes have been submerged in rainwaters, throwing traffic out of gear.

PTI