Hyderabad, October 02: Fourteen students were on Thursday fighting for survival amidst the swirling waters of Dundubhi stream in Mahaboobnagar district in a replay of Wednesday’s near-tragedy in exactly the same location. The only difference being that the Indian Air Force, which rushed to rescue five stranded boys on Wednesday, refused to oblige this time citing bad weather.
This is just one of the many incidents that unfolded in the last 24 hours as floods triggered by heavy rains wreaked havoc in several districts. Across the State, 16 people lost their lives while thousands were rendered homeless.
According to police, audacity of the 14 boys to venture into the swelling stream landed them in trouble. They were curious to see the Dindi reservoir and thought they could reach it by wading through the Dundubhi. Mid-way, they realised it could be fool-hardy but they could not get back to the shore in time.
As the current increased at a rapid pace, they managed to get a foothold on a patch of elevated ground in the middle of the stream.
Meanwhile, of the 16 dead, seven were from Karimnagar, four from Prakasam, three from Kurnool and two from Mahboobnagar.
Kurnool and Mahaboobnagar districts were the worst-hit. Uppununthala mandal in Mahaboobnagar district alone received 33 cm of rainfall while 10 mandals received 10 cm each. According to unofficial estimates, seven persons were washed away in Mahaboobnagar district. Crops in approximately 7,000 acres were damaged in the State. In Mahaboobnagar, 176 tanks were breached.
Inflows into Srisailam touched 10.33 lakh cusecs at 6 p.m. prompting officials to lift 10 crest gates and switch on hydel stations to generate power at full capacity. Inflows into Nagarjuna Sagar reached eight lakh cusec mark and late at night, authorities lifted all the 26 gates up to five feet and were discharging water at the rate of three lakh cusecs down stream.
They also issued a flood warning to Vijayawada.
As it takes more than 12 hours for the water to reach Prakasam Barrage, the officials are trying to evacuate people along the river bank to safer places.
Chief Minister K Rosaiah held a video conference with district collectors and directed them to be ready to handle any emergency. He wanted them to ensure that maximum power is generated and ample water supplied for irrigation purposes.
–Agencies–