Telangana CM Issues Red Alert Due to Heavy Rains

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Sunday asked people not to venture out as many areas in the state have been badly hit by incessant torrential rain, paralysing emergency services. He also asked people living in low-lying areas to stay on alert and inform the officials about any requirement.

As officials sounded a red alert in the state, the Chief Minister held an emergency review meeting with officials and cancelled the leaves of government officials. He directed officials to join back duty immediately to take up rehabilitation works in flood-affected areas. He directed the officials of emergency departments to keep the Chief Minister’s Office updated.

He called up senior ministers Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, Tummala Nageshwara Rao, Damodhara Rajanarasimha and Jupally Krishna Rao and alerted them on the condition in the state.

In a teleconference, he asked the Chief Secretary, DGP and officials of municipal, power, panchayat raj, HYDRAA and irrigation officials to keep the staff on alert for the next 24 hours. He also asked the district collectors, the SPs, revenue, irrigation and municipal officials in the district to make field visits to review the situation and take up relief and rehabilitation measures.

Revanth Reddy urged all MPs, MLAs, MLCs and other local leaders to involve themselves in relief works. He also urged the Congress activists to extend all the help to needy people.

In an attempt to save rain water for future use, the Chief Minister directed Uttam Kumar Reddy and irrigation officials to take all measures to make use of flood waters in view of heavy rains by filling up all reservoirs, tanks and other water bodies for future needs.

Due to heavy rains in the upper regions of Kadam Project in Nirmal and Adilabad districts, the flood waters from Kadam dam had filled Yellampalli Project in Peddapalli district. The authorities are releasing the water from Yellampally into the Godavari river by lifting the gates.

The Chief Minister asked the irrigation officials to lift at least one thousand million cubic (TMC) feet of water. He asked the officials to pump the water from Nandi and Gayatri Pump houses to fill the reservoirs and that the pumps must be engaged continuously to lift water from Mid Manair dam, Lower Manair dam, Ranganayakasagar till Mallannasagar.

As against the full reservoir capacity of 20 TMC, the Yellampally project is filled with 18.45 TMC of water. The water coming from the Kadam project is now being lifted through Nandi and Gayatri pump houses to the Mid-Manair dam. The Mid Manair is filled with 15 TMC of water against full capacity of 27 TMC. The officials are at present lifting 14,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs) of water to Lower Manair, another 6,400 cusecs to the Annapurna reservoir and from it to the Ranganayaka Sagar.

He directed the officials to pump the water from the Ranganayaka Sagar to Mallanna Sagar and fill the Konda Pochamma Sagar project. Divert the water from these two projects to Singur Project and Nizamsagar Project. The current water level in Mallanna Sagar is 11.43 TMC as against the full reservoir capacity of 50 TMC. Similarly, the Kondapochamma Sagar is holding only 7.91 TMC of water against a full capacity of 15 TMC.

Revanth Reddy asked the officials to follow the directives of the Central Water Commission and fill as much water as possible in Mallannasagar and Kondapochammasagar reservoirs. Another 18 to 20 TMC of water will be filled in Mallannasagar and 10 TMC of water in Kondapochammasagar reservoirs. The Chief Minister asked to shift the water from Kondapochammasagar to Nizamsagar Project to Haldi Vagu.