SIDDIPET : Panic prevailed at Yellareddypet village of Thoguta mandal on Wednesday evening after the locals noticed a huge pit near the Siddipet-Thoguta road in the district after a portion of the land caved in due to the recent floods. As the pit was formed right near the underground pipeline that takes Godavari waters from Ranganayakasagar to Mallannasagar, the locals thought that this might affect the lifting of water and in turn their cultivation.
However, soon after learning about the incident, the officials concerned swung into action and erected barricades around it to avoid untoward incidents of any kind as it was so close to the road. It is assumed that the pit is around 12-feet-deep.When the concern over the incident turned into panic among the locals, Ranganayakasagar Superintendent Engineer (SE) P Anand responded to it and said that if the pit had in fact affected the pipeline, the water would have started gushing out of it long back as the officials concerned have been pumping water from Ranganayakasagar to Mallannasagar surgepool, and from there to the Kondapochamma reservoir, for the past one week.
Meanwhile, as the authorities concerned could not fix it by Wednesday night, they visited the spot again on Thursday morning and reviewed the situation. After noticing the depression, a few locals mentioned that there was a well in the same spot previously, which was closed and sealed later. However, with heavy rains and floods, the soil must have become loose, forming a mammoth pit.
In the meantime, the superintendent engineer told this newspaper that he had also heard about the well and that they are looking into all possibilities before ascertaining the exact reason behind the incident. According to sources, works have been commenced to fill the pit with concrete as per the directions of the SE and engineering officials. However, they have not been able to complete the works due to the ongoing downpour. SE Anand told Express that the pit would be filled with a mixture of sand, concrete and cement, instead of mud, as a permanent solution.