VIJAYAWADA: The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) on Sunday pulled the lorries out of the swollen Muneru rivulet of the Krishna. In all, 132 lorries and four tractors transporting sand from the riverbed got stuck in the river at Chevitikallu in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh following floods on Saturday.
The personnel with the help of earthmovers and other safety equipment took out all the vehicles from the flooded river without causing any injury in the process. It might be recalled that all the trucks reached the Chevitikallu sand reach on Saturday small hours when a few truckers noticed the rising water level and shouted for help.
Locals informed the police and revenue authorities who rushed to the spot and rescued around 300 persons including drivers, cleaners and workers with the help of boats. Revenue officials told TNIE that the approach channel developed at the reach for transportation of sand washed away due to the sudden inflows from the Pulichintala project, leaving trucks stranded.
Kanchikacherla tahsildar Raja Kumari said the entire operation to bring out all the vehicles to safety was completed in less than six hours as the water in the rivulet had receded. “With the help of earthmovers, we pulled all the trucks out of the river. Also, the drivers were told not to transport sand from the reach till the situation comes back to normal,” she said.