60% of Kurnool submerged
Kurnool: Gripped by fear, people climbed on top of the buildings as the Tungabhadra and Handri rivers inundated many colonies in Kurnool city on Friday. The city is 60 per cent submerged. Traffic movement too was disrupted. People living in high er areas were relatively safe.
The officials have been issuing alerts and evacuating people in trucks, autorickshaws and 108 vehicles. Meanwhile, the communication network snapped in the city went kaput with the cellphone tower representatives taking away equipment to minimise damage. This city has never seen such floods in the past.
Goons claim money to ferry in Kurnool
It is reported from the flood affected areas that a few people have been making money by ferrying victims to safer zones in Kurnool district. A group of men sail boats into the core areas of flood affected villages looking for trapped people.
They demand Rs 500 per head and Rs 5,000 for a family to shift them to safer places. People have given in to their demands to save their and their family’s lives.
A group of men reportedly demanded Rs 20,000 to rescue a family in Sukkadavidhi and Rs 50,000 for 150 persons near Rudravaram. Moreover, some goons are looting homes and grocery shops after people left for safer areas. People alleged few thugs under the guise of rescue teams collected money in huge amounts from flood victims in Kurnool district.
Boat crunch hits rescue operations:
By Saturday afternoon, the government officials and rescue teams had shifted 65,000 flood-affected people to 35 rehabilitation camps. Their target was to shift another one lakh people by Saturday evening. However, a shortage in the number of boats and rescue officials slowed the rescue process.
A team of 100 members from Karimnagar’s Singareni coal mine helped with the rescue operations. On Saturday morning, the national disaster rescue team relocated 1,000 people in Kurnool city using 24 powerboats. The officials were also able to rescue children stuck in Amruta Apartment in NR Peta.
Thousands more were still stuck on building roofs waiting to be rescued. About 50,000 people, had climbed the Jaganatha hillock, about 6 km from the city, to protect themselves from the flood waters. However, rescue boats and personnel were unable to reach many of the most flood-affected areas.
It is believed also that 50 persons from of Jasmimagudeum in Shamshabad mandal, who had come to visit the Mantralayam mutt, were washed away on Friday. There is no official confirmation yet.
Hundreds of devotees also climbed the terrace of the Bala Saibababa ashramam. Meanwhile, 14 colonies in Nandyal were submerged. Floodwater also engulfed YSNagar and Nandamuri Nagar. Almost 400 people were caught in the floodwaters. The Krishna backwaters hit Chenigallu and Yerragudur villages and wild boars entered into the villages from the Nallamala.
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