KURNOOL: Heavy downpour inundated several low-lying areas across the district early Sunday. The temple town Mantralayam was marooned as water from Nallavanka vagu entered into the town. Colonies close to Raghavendra Swamy mutt, including Raghavendra nagar, Ramachandranagar and Pathuru, were flooded. Rain water seeped into residential houses as well.
The dire situation of the town is the result of lack of proper drainage and outlet system, Vijay, a resident of Mantralayam, said. Officials failed to construct drains properly which could help rainwater to flow easily without stagnating on the roads, he added.
Due to the rain, devotees, who came to the town to offer prayers at Sri Raghavendra Swamy temple, had to stay put in their rooms till Sunday evening. Due to heavy flooding, pedestrians, devotees and vehicles had to face a tough time. Many drains were unable to handle the high influx of water from the downpour which caused water to accumulate on the road.
At least 70 sheep along with a shepherd named Nageswar Rao were trapped in the flood caused by the Handri River near Remadur village in Kallur mandal. Fortunately, he and the sheep were rescued by Kurnool fire unit led by senior fire officer Prabhakar, using an IRB boat. The district fire officer Sreenivasa Reddy said, the Yemmiganur fire unit also rescued 30 farmers who were trapped in a local stream at Nandavaram SC colony near Yemmiganur town.
As many as 20 farmers and agricultural labourers who were stuck in agricultural lands due to over flowing of local streams, at Aspari, Gonegandla and Kodumur mandals, were safely rescued by local police. Flood water breached several local causeways, snapping road links in at least five places of the district, particularly near Gonegandla. It caused congestion on Kurnool to Adoni route and on Ballary main road for nearly two hours.
As per the rainfall report, the district received an average rainfall of 35.50 millimetres in the last 24 hours. Kodumur received the highest rainfall of 120.40 mm against its actual 80.40 mm while Sanjamala mandal got lowest rainfall of 3.40 mm. Meanwhile, the district administration is keeping a close watch on the situation.
District Collector G Veera Pandian held a meeting with officials to review the situation. He ordered the officials to stop transportation between the areas where flood water was flowing over the bridges. He further directed the authorities to caution the people to stay alert.