Deaths toll reaches to 30 in AP due to floods

Hyderabad,  Oct 3 :

 Even as  the toll has risen to  30,  the  Flood situation  in Andhra Pradesh  was a  shade better  than what it was on Friday.  According  to  reports from different corners reaching  here on Saturday  there  is  a  slight  let up in the  rains  in the Flood affected districts  of  Kurnool and  Mahboobnagar allowing  the  things  not  to  deteriorate further.

The  rescue  and relief operations  which are being  carried out  on a war-footing  have  brought a ray of hope and  confidence  among  the people in  these  Flood  hit  areas. With  water receding  from many areas of Kurnool  town  the people of Kurnool  heaved a sigh of relief. The  pilgrim town of Mantralayam also  had  some respite  from the  Flood waters as  the level of  water in the  raging  Tungabhadra  showed signs  of receding.  Still both the  towns are not  yet  out  of danger as more  rains  are predicted  according to the  meteorological  department.

The  situation in Srisailam dam  is  still alarming. The  water level  at the  dam is now  at a record high of 896  feet  against   its  capacity of  885  feet. According   to the officials  at the dam site,  the inflow which was 22 lakh cusecs on Friday  has  come  down to 15 lakh Cusecs  bringing  some  relief on the gloomy   faces of  the officials. All the  twelve  crest  gates  at  the  dam  have  been  lifted  Flood water is being released down to Nagarjuna Sagar  and  Prakasham barrage.

The   Flood  waters   gushing  out  from the  crest gates of Srisailam dam  had  damaged the high way between  Srisailam and  Hyderabad  thus  disrupting the traffic. The Flood waters  had already disrupted the Kurnool- Hyderabad  highway on Friday  itself. The  situation in  Mahboobnagar  is slightly improving   with most of  the rivers  and rivulets  in the district started receding.  Efforts  are on to  rescue  about  2,000 people in 84 worst affected villages in  Izah, and Vaddepally mandals of  Mahboobnagar  district.

On the other hand, the rescue  and relief operations which began  on Saturday  are in full swing. Disaster Management Commissioner Dinesh Kumar said 15 helicopters were pressed into service and  550 army personnel are  carrying out  rescue  and  relief operations  with cooperation from the  local  authorities. About 2,00,00 lakh  water  and  food  packets  are being  airdropped to  the marooned  victims  in the  Flood-hit  areas. In view of  release of  mass quantities of water   from Nagarjuna Sagar  about  1.5  lakh people are proposed to be evacuated  in Vijayawada region, he added.

Chief Minister K. Rosaiah, who stayed all through  Friday night  at  the state secretariat along with several ministers and top officials to monitor the situation, told the  media on Saturday that the rescue and relief operations would be taken up on a massive scale. About  the  causalities  he said no definite figure  could  be reached  so  far  because most  of the  areas  have  been  cut off.

According  to the officials sources  30 people died  during the last three days of heavy rain under the influence of a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal. The  figure could rise sharply as hundreds of people are still reported missing in about 100 villages in the worst-hit Kurnool and Mahboobnagar districts.The worst Floods in the region in 100 years have left a trail of destruction, rendering over 200,000 shelterless in Kurnool, Mahboobnagar, Guntur and Krishna districts and damaging standing crops over a vast area. Added to their woes is  the  disruption in the power supply which  left  them  completely in the  dark on Friday night.