Nellore, Prakasam districts alerted

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, NOV. 9. The State Government has put both Nellore and Prakasam districts on high alert in view of the impending heavy rain forecast under the well-marked low pressure area in the Bay of Bengal threatening to become a depression.

Messages were flashed this evening to the Collectors of both districts to be prepared to face heavy rain which may cause breaches to the already overflowing tanks, roads and railway tracks.

The Nellore Collector has been particularly asked to keep a constant watch on the water level in the Somasila project which suffered scouring on the right guide-wall during the recent floods. The dam was getting an inflow of 9,000 cusecs even without any gain under the present depression. However, the authorities are maintaining sufficient cushion in the dam to enable it to absorb flash floods, if any, under this fresh spell of rain to be caused by the depression, according to the Irrigation Secretary, Mr. C. V. S. K. Sarma.

Information available with the Government shows that as many as 16 tanks including Sarvepalli reservoir suffered breaches in Nellore district two days ago. However, all of them have been plugged. In Prakasam district, a special vigil is being kept on the Rallapadu and Mopadu irrigation projects which are full.

Meanwhile, the low pressure area lying over south-west and west- central Bay of Bengal off north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Coast was `well-marked' and likely to intensify into a depression.

According to a weather bulletin issued by the State Met Office here, widespread rain with isolated `very heavy falls' (up to 12.5 cm ) are likely on Saturday and Sunday at many places in the coastal belt, especially Nellore and Prakasam districts, and strong surface winds along and off the coast blowing on the north-easterly direction at 45-55 KMPH. On Friday, there was rain at some places in the State.

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Section  : Southern States
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