Extensive crop damage

Several rivulets, irrigation tanks and streams are overflowing across the district following incessant rain for the last three days. One person was washed away in Kummaroini Vagu in Amrabad mandal while trying to cross the road and another died when a wall collapsed in Solipur village of Farooqnagar mandal.

The officials have been assessing the crop loss due to the rain. However, preliminary reports said that the loss would be around Rs. 47 crore. The loss might be more than the estimates, it is feared. Various crops in 25,000 acres were lost due to the heavy rain, the officials said.

Though the average rainfall in the district was 65mm, the maximum rainfall of 16 cm was reported in Balmuru, 14.7 cm in Kalwakurthy and 14 cm in Veldanda mandals.

The officials said that 230 houses were completely damaged and 2,700 houses were partially damaged.

The rainfall was the highest in Acchampet Assembly segment where almost all the rivulets and streams were overflowing. Several huge boulders rolled down from the Srisailam hill on the ghat road disrupting traffic to Srisailam. Several hundreds of vehicles bound to Hyderabad and Srisailam were stranded at Lattipur in Uppunutala mandal as Taduru and Velduru tanks breached and water was flowing on the road. Likewise, traffic to Akkaram, Manyvaripalli Tanda and Ghanapuram Tanda was disrupted after the road bridge on Chandravagu on the outskirts of Achampet was damaged.

In Achampet constituency alone 1,223 houses have collapsed and the crop loss was also considerable.

An RTC bus was caught in the middle of a stream while crossing the road. However, the passengers in the bus stepped out safe much to the relief of the people. Considerable amount of onion crop was damaged in Kuppunur of Vipanagandla mandal.