Rain claims 18 lives in Guntur district

By Our Staff Reporter

GUNTUR, AUG. 23. At least 18 persons were killed and nine others were missing following heavy rains in Guntur district in the last two days. About 20 policemen, who were stuck on the terrace of Dachepalli police station for over eight hours, could be rescued. A lodge in Karempudi collapsed as the gushing waters of Naguleru spread into the village and struck the building. While nine persons were reported missing following the incident, the body of one person could be found in the debris. A Tata Sumo was washed away in the Goli vagu around 5.30 pm on Wednesday.

According to information reaching the district headquarters, three persons -- Sk.Khaja Mastan (57), Ch. Venkata Rao (32) and D. Indu Babu (22) -- were washed away in the Ogeru vagu while they were crossing the causeway on the National Highway No.5 near Chilakaluripet on Tuesday night. Another person, G. Raghava Rao, was washed away in Ogeru vagu near Pasumarru in the wee hours of Wednesday. Three persons were washed away near Mulakaluru -- between Narasaraopet and Sathenapalli -- on Tuesday night. Two of them were identified as A. Ramalinga Reddy (16) of Chagantivaripalem and G. Muralimohana Rao (30) of Peddareddypalem. The SI of police of Narasaraopet town, Mr. Adinarayana, rescued two persons with the help of ropes. Five others who held the railings of the causeway while crossing it were rescued by Mr. T.V.Ratna Swamy, SI of police of Sathenapalli town, from the other end. Three others, however, were washed away in the water.

A woman, D. Suseela (45), was killed when lightning struck at Kesanapalli village of Dachepalli mandal on Tuesday night. Another woman, M.Kondamma (30), was drowned in Goli vagu near Rentachinthala. Two lorries were washed away in Naguleru near Karempudi on Tuesday night and two persons were killed. One of them was identified as Sk.Karimullah. Death of two more persons was reported in the Yedumangalam vagu near Rentachintala.

The Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Mr. M. Malakondaiah, said that the gushing waters of the Naguleru, which inundated Karempudi, hit Srinivasa Lodge at 2 am on Wednesday, resulting in its instantaneous collapse. There were reportedly 10 persons in the lodge. While one body could be found in the debris, the whereabouts of the other nine are yet to be established.

A Tata Sumo jeep, carrying nine persons, was washed away in the Goli vagu between Rentachintala and Macherla on Wednesday evening. The vehicle was tied with a rope to a lorry for crossing the Goli vagu. Unfortunately, the rope snapped when the vehicles were passing in the middle of the bridge. The Sumo was washed away in the surging waters. While four of the nine persons could be rescued, the other five were feared killed.

Traffic came to a halt on the National Highway No.5 as the causeway on the Ogeru vagu was washed away near Chilakaluripet. The traffic from Vijayawada was initially diverted via Ponnur and Chirala towards Ongole. However, since several rivulets were in spate between Ongole and Chirala, Chadalavada and Maddiralapadu, Naguluppalapadu and B.Nidmanuru, Parchur and Inkollu, Naguluppalapadu and Inkollu and Chirala and Timmasmudram, traffic got stuck at different places in Prakasam district. The routes between Medarametla and Addanki also became non-motorable due to heavy flow of water. The Gundlakamma was in spate everywhere in Prakasam and Guntur districts.

Numerous rivulets which were flowing with high currents above the road level in Guntur district resulted in traffic dislocation in the district. Nerella vagu near Vemavaram between Narasaraopet and Guntur, another rivulet near Merikapudi on the same route, Palvai vagu in Rentachintala mandal, Chandravanka near Macherla, Goli vagu near Rentachintala and Mulakaluru vagu were all flowing above the road level. The mud road connecting the new bridge on Naguleru near Dachepalli was washed away. With the result, road contact between Nadikude and Dachepalli on the Guntur-Hyderabad State Highway was cut off and repairs would take at least a week after the water receded, according to the Roads and Buildings department sources.

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