Hyderabad: 17 dead; Army deployed in rain-affected areas, NDRF on standby

Hyderabad: Four columns of the Army have been deployed in rain-affected areas of Hyderabad and neighbouring Ranga Reddy district after heavy downpour wreaked havoc in the capital and other parts of Telangana cutting off low-lying areas.

At least 17 people have died and thousands evacuated in Telangana and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh by Saturday, due to the heavy rainfall causing flooding in the states.

Hyderabad has experienced the worst rainfall in 108 years, as people stuck in worst-hit areas are facing shortage of food, drinking water and other essential items.

Army troops have been moved into Begumpet, Nizampet and Hakimpet areas in the city and Alwal in Ranga Reddy district to provide necessary relief, according to a Defence release.

The Army has also set up a control room at GHMC (Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation) office and, in coordination with the GHMC and NDRF officials, is closely monitoring the situation round-the-clock, it said.

"Army columns are already on track to provide relief material and medical aid in slum areas of Alwal. Other columns of the Army have been kept on standby, to be deployed when required," the release added.

The Army officials had met GHMC Commissioner Janardhan Reddy during the wee hours today and apprised the administration that their forces are prepared to swing into action as and when called for.

Also, following instructions from Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, a 60-member National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team has been kept on the standby in the city. Besides, the CM has ordered officials to set up control rooms in all the districts across the state to reach out to marooned people with necessary relief, said an official statement.

Some of the low lying areas in Hyderabad are still cut off from the rest of the city, even as GHMC and some NGOs are offering essential food items such as milk for relief of those affected.

The CM also instructed the officials to take necessary steps to prevent spread of communicable diseases.

Also, the district administration of Rangareddy, Khammam, Warangal and Medak besides GHMC have declared holiday for educational institutions today in view of heavy rains.

Yesterday, the Telangana government had said that it has kept two choppers ready to move people from low lying areas in the city, if necessary.

Four persons were killed and six others injured in separate rain-related incidents in Medak district yesterday.

According to the weather report issued by the Indian Meteorological Department today, "heavy to very heavy" rains are likely to occur at isolated places in Telangana.

Meanwhile, South Central Railway (SCR) today cancelled Guntur-Secunderabad Intercity Express and Secunderabad-Guntur Intercity express trains.

Secunderabad-Bhubaneswar Express, scheduled to depart from Secunderabad at 1650 hours, has been rescheduled to leave at 18.50 hours due to late arrival of pairing train, an SCR release said.