Rivulet in spate: 3 shepherds rescued

• Heavy rain in Nalgonda, Khammam bring more water to river
• Officials rescue three shepherds near Nandigama
• West Krishna receive 40 mm rain

Vijayawada: Incessant rain in Nalgonda and Khammam districts has brought heavy inflows into river Krishna on Saturday. Munneru rivulet, a tributary of the Krishna, was in spate from the early hours of Saturday, as rain water from the two districts, particularly from the Bhadrachalam area, filled the rivulet.

Aided by the heavy rain in the two districts, Chatrai mandal of Krishna district, located on the Khammam border, received the highest rainfall of 40.2 mm in the last 24 hours. The other mandals in western part of the district, Tiruvur, Vissannapet and Ibrahimpatnam, recorded 20.4 mm rain, while Vijayawada city received 29.2 mm rain.

The other mandals, including A Konduru, Reddigudem, Vatsavai, Jaggaiahpet, Nandigama, Thotlavalluru, Chandarlapadu, too received moderate rain in the last 24 hours. Avanigadda mandal, in eastern part of the district, received highest rainfall of 15.4 mm, while other mandals of the delta received 9.6 mm to 4.2 mm rainfall.

There was tension at Nandigama, with three men held up in the flooded Munneru rivulet. Three shepherds of Raghavapuram, along with their sheep, were heading to the Nandigama market, when the inflows increased marooning the area. The three were held up on a small island covered by water on all sides. The scared shepherds alerted their families using their mobile phones. The families passed on the information to the police and revenue officials. Vijayawada MP Kesineni Srinivas, upon learning about the incident, spoke with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) officials and sent a rescue team to the spot. The team rescued the shepherds ending four-hour-long tension.