CM Revanth Reddy holds emergency review as heavy rains batter Telangana

Hyderabad: Heavy rains lashed many parts of Telangana, including Hyderabad on Sunday and Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy held an emergency review with ministers, officials and elected members. A woman died and three others were feared washed away in separate rain-related incidents in Mahabubabad and Khammam districts on Sunday.

Due to heavy rains and waterlogging over the tracks at several locations on South Central Railway (SCR) network, as many as 99 trains were cancelled and four trains were partially cancelled while 54 trains were diverted , an SCR official said.

In view of the State witnessing incessant rains, Reddy, reviewed the situation in the rain-affected areas, and spoke to ministers - Bhatti Vikramarka, N Uttam Kumar Reddy, Tummala Nageshwar Rao, Damodara Raja Narasimha and Jupalli Krishna Rao over the phone and enquired about the relief operations in the submerged areas, an official release said. Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar in a post on ‘X’ said “Informed Hon’ble Union Home Minister Shri @AmitShah ji about the severe situation in Telangana’s Khammam & that 110 villages in the district have been submerged, 9 people are stranded on Prakash Nagar hillock, 68 people on Azmeera Thanda hillock in Palair constituency, and 42 others are trapped on buildings.”

Following the Home Minister’s orders, nine NDRF teams, three each from Chennai, Visakhapatnam, and Assam, have been dispatched to Telangana, Sanjay Kumar said. He said he spoke with senior NDRF officials to coordinate the rescue efforts and also discussed the situation and the ongoing rescue operations with Telangana Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy. “NDRF teams are already in action following the central govt’s directives,” the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs said. A woman died when the car she was travelling in along with her father washed away while crossing an overflowing stream in Maripeda mandal Mahabubabad district in the early hours of Sunday, police said. They were proceeding in the car to Hyderabad to take a flight from the airport, police said, adding the vehicle was traced and the body of the woman was recovered and efforts were on to locate her father, who is still missing.

In another incident, two family members were feared washed away in flood waters after the wall of their house collapsed in Kusumanchi mandal of Khammam district and efforts were on to locate them, officials said.

In its weather warning, the Met Centre here on Sunday said very heavy to extremely heavy rain is very likely to occur at isolated places in Adilabad, Nizamabad, Rajanna Sircilla, Yadadri Bhuvangiri, Vikarabad, Sangareddy, Kamareddy and Mahabubnagar districts of Telangana from 1300 hours of Sunday to 0830 hours of September 2. It issued a red warning for this forecast. The SCR official said due to incessant rains in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over the past 24 hours there has been flooding and breaches in Kazipet to Vijayawada section and five trains in that section were stranded even as officials moved 15 trains via a diverted path.

The officials have started evacuation of passengers, he said, adding necessary arrangements including to make them reach their destination and food is being provided to them.

A portion of gravel under the railway track near Kesamudram in Mahabubabad district was washed away due to floodwaters, resulting in passengers on a train being stranded at Kesamudram railway station.