Ten washed away in Pennar waters

By Our Staff Reporter

CUDDAPAH, OCT. 7. Ten persons died when a jeep and a Tata Sumo carrying them were washed away in the swollen Pennar which was flowing over the low-level causeway near Siddhavatam on the Cuddapah-Badvel road, about 25 km from here, in the early hours of Sunday.

Five persons were washed away and another was reported missing, when a jeep (No. AP04 7236) going from Cuddapah to Badvel with 12 persons, entered the half-km-long causeway around 1.30 a.m., over which water was flowing with hectic force. A teacher, Sridhar Reddy, of Kondapuram village in Badvel mandal, A. Balaiah of Mahaboobnagar street in Gopavaram mandal, and three others, Penchalaiah, Yesob and Lakshmaiah, were washed away.

Six passengers of the jeep managed to swim to safety. They were Prabhakar Reddy of Atlur, Ramesh, Suresh, Ravi, Uday and the jeep driver, Narsaiah. Their relatives visited the spot in the early hours after Prabhakar Reddy informed Sridhar Reddy's relatives in Badvel about the tragedy. Meanwhile, Mr. Mohd. Ghouse, who accompanied the relatives of the dead, told reporters that his son, Ghouse Basha (20), had also travelled in the jeep and was missing. The two vehicles which were washed away were nowhere in sight.

About half an hour later, a Tata Sumo (No. TN04L 1000), carrying four persons from Puttur in Chittoor district to Badvel, was also washed away around 2 a.m. The vehicle owner, Mr. Madhu, was the lone person to swim to safety and he complained to officials of the A.P. Special Police (India Reserve) Battalion nearby. He said the vehicle driver, Ramesh, and two others, whose names were not yet known, were washed away.

Meanwhile, a farmer, K. Veeraiah (55), belonging to Mangalavandlapalle village in Siddhavatam mandal, was washed away in gushing waters last night when he tried to cross the causeway on foot, his relatives informed newsmen at the causeway.

District revenue and police officials visited the spot.

Besides the Pennar, the Papaghni, Kundu, Mandavya and Chitravathi rivers were in spate.

Heavy rain claimed three lives in different incidents in Kurnool district. According to reports, two persons died in a wall collapse at Polekal village in C. Belagal mandal in the early hours of today. The incident occurred when the wall collapsed on a hut killing B. Ayyanna, 36, and his mother, Rangamma, 60, who were sleeping in it.

In another incident, a four-year-old boy, Ganesh, was drowned in a pool at Chowkie Matham in Adoni town. All pits in the area were filled due to heavy rain. Incidents of house collapse were reported from several places. In Budhavarpet in the town, three houses collapsed.

There were reports of heavy rain from other districts also.

In Prakasam district, people living in villages in lower reaches of the Rallapadu reservoir were evacuated to safer places as streams draining into it were in floods. Four flood gates of the project were lifted, letting out 7,000 cusecs of water into the sea.

The main channel of the Mopedu reservoir reportedly breached at five places. Gundlakamma, Paleru, Musi and Maneru are overflowing. The road link between Markapur and Dornala, and Markapur and Cumbum has been cut off as Upputeru and Teegaleru are overflowing on to the road. The RTC has suspended services in the area.

A high alert was sounded in Ulavapadu, Gudlur and Lingasamudram mandals. Revenue officials took steps to evacuate people of Bhimavaram, Baddipudi, Charampudi, Atmakur, Balireddypalem, Venkampet and Angirakulapadu to safer places. Officials are closely watching the position of inflows into the reservoir.

Rainfall was heavy at some places. Lingasamudram recorded the highest rainfall of 182 mm, while the Prakasam district received about 100 mm on an average in the past three days.

A report from Nellore said the district administration alerted the official machinery in the Somasila reservoir area following rain there.

It has constituted a three-member control room at the Collectorate for round-the-clock monitoring of water levels and to report the developments. The cause for official action was the tragedy that occurred last year, when flash floods resulted in drowning of four girls in Chejerla mandal. There have been allegations that the flood gates were opened without proper warning or notice to villagers.

This time the administration did not want the recurrence of such instances and has taken precautions to ward off any public criticism. Meanwhile, the inflow in Somasila at 4 p.m. on Sunday, was reported at 54,216 cusecs, whereas it was nearly one lakh cusecs at 10 a.m. and 1.38 lakh cusecs at 1 p.m. Also at 4 p.m., the water level was 84.50 metres and storage was 11.42 tmcft. In the Kandaleru reservoir, however, the water flows have not been significant.

In Nizamabad district, inflows into the Sriramsagar project on the Godavari at Pochampad in Balkonda mandal continued on Sunday also with the dam authorities preparing to open the flood gates yet again tonight to let out the surplus water.

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