Rain wreaks havoc in Kurnool district

By Our Staff Reporter

KURNOOL, OCT. 17. The heavy rain last night wrought havoc in Kurnool district paralysing life and damaging communication systems. Nandyal was the worst hit with the town remaining cut off from all sides. Train services were hit on the Giddalur- Nandyal-Dronachalam section with damage reported to the track at several points.

The KC canal breached near Pardempadu on the outskirts of the Kurnool town due to heavy rain. Also, the canal bunds reported erosion at 12 places. The plugging of the breach was estimated to cost Rs 20 lakhs. The Superintending Engineer, Mr. Prabhakar Reddy, said the irrigation staff had no time even to regulate the flow in the canal because the rain was sudden. Plugging would take at least a week.

Because of the breach the communication to Pardempadu village was cut off from one side. Paddy fields surrounding the breach site were flooded. The irrigation authorities remarked that the heavy inflow into the canal from different areas were beyond human control and the breach acted as a safety valve. Otherwise, the damage could have been heavy had it breached in inhabiting areas.

Railway services were hit in the Nandyal region. The Vijayawada bound Amaravathi express and Guntur bound Bangalore expresses were held up at Nandyal station. The Nandyal-Giddalur section was closed due to blocking of the track by landslides near Chalama in the ghat section. Also, the Nandyal-Dronachalam route was also closed due to overflowing of water on the track on the outskirts of the town.

The Prasanthi express running between Visakhapatnam and Bangalore was diverted via Kurnool, Secunderabad and Guntur. The Prasanthi express which arrived at Giddalur from the other end was also hauled back to Guntur and allowed to proceed via Secunderabad. The Railway authorities were not sure when the train services would resume. About 500 passengers were stranded at Nandyal station.

Power supply system suffered heavy damage due to rain. One of the towers of 220 kv line supplying power to Nandyal town collapsed near Tammarajupalli. Also, the supply was switched off to Allagadda-Uyyalawada, Nandyal-Gospadu and Nandyal-Gadivemula lines. Alternative supply was ensured to Nandyal, Allagadda and Banaganapalle towns by supply through 132 kv line from Cement Nagar. Villages in Panyam, Gospadu, Uyyalawada and Gadivemula mandals were still in darkness. An official of the Transco said over 70 transformers were damaged besides power lines. The initial estimate of loss was put at Rs 3 crores.

Life was paralysed in towns and villages across the district. Over 4,000 houses were said to have been damaged partially or fully in the district. Flood water entered residential areas in Sriramnagar, low-lying areas of Madhavinagar, Bhagarsingha Nagar, Premnagar and Budhavarpet of Kurnool town. In Mamatanagar and Samathanagar five feet deep water flowed. Residents complained that flood water had entered their houses suddenly and washed away their belongings. In Nandyal town, Harijanpet, Salimnagar, RTC Garage, Bus station and Municipal Office were inundated.

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