Hyderabad: Heavy rains coupled with hail storms and strong winds lashed several parts of northern Telangana on Wednesday, May 21, damaging standing horticultural crops, paddy and maize in procurement centres, and houses with roofing sheets.
Heavy rain damaged paddy waiting to be lifted at the the Metpally agricultural market yard in Jagtial district. The farmers complained that their paddy produce has been waiting to be lifted since 20 days. The maize produce brought to Choppadandi agricultural market yard got soaked in the rain water. Heavy rain was also recorded in Ramadugu and Gangadhara mandals of the undivided Karimnagar district.
Heavy rains with strong winds were also recorded in several parts of the undivided Medak district.
In Pothamsettipally village of Kolcharam mandal in Medak district, a whirlwind caused damage to trees and roofing sheets on several houses. An electricity pole fell on a person in Pothamsettipally, damaging both his legs. He was shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment. One of the roofing sheets from a house flew and landed on a car passing by. Fortunately, the passengers in the car escaped unhurt.
A tree which fell on the Medak-Hyderabad highway caused traffic interruption before it was cleared by the police personnel.
Rains were recorded in parts of Nizamabad district t Darpally and Indalwai mandals on Wednesday.
In Thorrur village of Mahabubabad district, farmers whose paddy has been lying at a paddy procurement centre (PPC) accused the officials of not lifting their paddy for the past 25 days, due to which it got soaked due to the unseasonal rain.
It is pertinent to mention that last week IT and industries minister D Sridhar Babu had promised compensation for farmers losing their paddy crop due to unseasonal rains. He also assured that the state government would procure wet paddy in case of such extreme weather events like hailstorms.
CM Revanth directs officials to be on high alert
Following heavy rains in the districts and also in Hyderabad , Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy instructed the officials concerned to be on high alert and take necessary precautions as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast that the state could receive rains for another three days.
The chief minister asked the district collectors to take appropriate safety measures to prevent paddy stockpiled at the procurement centers and the market yards from getting wet during the rains. The officials have been instructed to shift the paddy soon after weighing, to the rice mills without any delay, and to take safety measures in the low lying areas without causing inconvenience to the residents.
In view of rains in Hyderabad, Revanth Reddy ordered the civic authorities to take necessary steps to prevent water logging on the roads in the rain hit areas, and to address traffic congestion and power outages.
The officials of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), police, traffic police, Hyderabad Disaster Response Assets Monitoring and Protection Agency (HYDRAA), and the electricity departments have been asked to work in coordination.
The chief minister also instructed chief secretary K Ramakrishna Rao to review the situation from time to time.
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