KHAMMAM/ KESAMUDRAM : For the residents of 15 colonies along the Munneru river in Khammam, life has turned upside-down in a matter of days as they struggle with the aftermath of sudden rains and severe flooding since Sunday.
Thousands of families have been displaced, and the damage is estimated to be in hundreds of crores. Many residents, forced to flee to relief camps, left behind their homes and belongings which were swept away in the floodwaters. Fear of further calamities has left many unable to sleep at night. Approximately 10,000 families in these colonies have been severely impacted.
The situation in Kesamudram mandal of Mahabubabad district is no different. Erstwhile Khammam and Warangal districts have been the worst hit by the rains. In Kesamudram mandal, groups of women were seen sitting outside their homes, discussing their losses while others were busy cleaning their homes. Men were seen lifting garbage with their tractors and dumping it on the outskirts of the mandal headquarters.
Locals, like J Prem Kumar, a garment merchant, said that they suffered huge losses. “Floodwaters entered my shop, ruining cloth material worth around Rs 2.5 lakh,” he said, pointing to his submerged store.
The government has initiated rescue and relief operations, setting up 34 relief camps in Khammam, where around 7,000 individuals from 2,119 families have sought shelter. Teams from the National Disaster Response Force and state police are conducting search operations in affected areas to find persons washed away in the floodwaters.
In Khammam, most of the victims of the floods are poor. Unless they work, they cannot keep the wolf away from the door. They alleged that they were living in miserable conditions because the government had not put in place any mechanism to warn them in advance of any impending natural calamity.
An elderly resident, reflecting on the scale of the disaster, said, “I have never seen floods of this magnitude in my 70 years. We cannot even cook food as mud has filled our homes. The future feels uncertain, and we have lost everything.”
We lost everything except the clothes we wore: Victim
Though water levels have receded, residents are now concerned about an outbreak of disease due to poor sanitation. They are working to clean their homes without any help from the authorities. K Srinivas, an auto driver from Class IV Employees’ Colony, told TNIE: “We left everything behind when we evacuated. No officials or representatives have come to assist us.”
In Bokkalagadda, Erakala Rama Rao, a labourer, described his predicament: “Five quintals of my rice and other essentials were damaged. We have no drinking water, no food, and no power. So far, no government officials have visited us.” His employer has provided food and shelter for his family.
In Motinagar, Yellampalli Venkata Rao reported that around 800 houses were inundated. “All of us here are poor. My house was marooned, and I lost everything. Each family in this area has suffered losses of Rs 3 to Rs 4 lakh,” he said.
Residents criticised the local administration for not issuing timely flood warnings. K Alivelu from the Peddamma Talli temple area remarked: “We lost everything except the clothes on our backs. The administration failed to warn us about the floods. There’s no water to even clean our houses.” Srinivasa Reddy of Karunagiri added, “Water entered our homes, and we have no power or water supply. No official has visited us. They could have at least sent water tankers to help.”
He said that the receding flood waters left behind a 3-feet thick layer of silt.
