Several low-lying areas were under knee-deep water as heavy rains lashed Tirupati and the eastern mandals of Chittoor district on Thursday, under the impact of the depression over the Bay of Bengal.
It started drizzling late on Wednesday while heavy rain lashed Tirupati for several hours till Thursday morning. After a brief halt, it rained heavily again in the evening. Low-lying areas such as Madhura Nagar, STV Nagar and Lakshmipuram remained submerged, while the arterial roads resembled tanks. Water entered into many houses.
MLA Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, Mayor R. Sireesha and MCT Commissioner P.S. Gireesha teams of officials and inspected the inundated areas and rushed relief material wherever needed.
Decades-old trees got uprooted and fell on the road, disrupting flow of traffic and the mobility of rescue teams. The disaster response teams chopped off the branches of trees and inspected the sewer lines and storm water drains.
Srikalahasti also witnessed a heavy downpour, leading to inundation of low-lying streets such as Mangala Veedhi and Kaikala Veedhi.
Rivers in spate
The Kusasthali, Aruna and Swarnamukhi rivers flowing in eastern and southern Chittoor district were in spate. Gates of the Kalangi reservoir near Srikalahasti and Krishnapuram reservoir in Karvetinagaram were briefly lifted to discharge water. The release of water from the Araniar reservoir for the last couple of days helped safeguard the higher reaches in Pichatur, even as the outflow affected Nagalapuram and Uthukota (Tamil Nadu) areas downstream.
Farmers of Nindra and Vijayapuram mandals, who cultivated sugar cane after losing their paddy crop in last year’s cyclone, however heaved a sigh of relief.
