Khammam bore the brunt of nature's fury - both in lives lost and destruction to property - and has a number of such tragic stories to tell.
Published Sep 02, 2024 | 10:38 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 03, 2024 | 9:31 AM
Telangana rains
The fury of the recent rains has left several families in Telangana in unremitting agony. For instance, a young agricultural scientist – Nunawat Ashwini and her father- met with a water grave in the Mahabubabad district on Sunday, 1 September.
Not knowing that they were on their way to meet the grim reaper, Ashwini and her father Nunawat Motilal set out for Hyderabad from Gangaram in Karepalli mandal in Bhadradri-Kothagudem district in the early hours of Sunday. She was to catch a flight to Delhi from Hyderabad.
Ashwini worked as an agriculture scientist in a seed firm in Raipur in Chhattisgarh and she was on her way to rejoin duty after visiting her family. The father and daughter began their ill-fated journey when the rain was already very fierce. He advised his daughter to postpone her journey but she insisted on catching the flight the same day. She had already purchased the ticket and she had to join work.
Even as rain continued to lash the state, the father-daughter duo began their journey and initially, they were able to make progress without much danger. However, when they reached Pourushotamaya Gudem in Maripeda Mandal of Mahabubabad district, they saw a local stream – Akeru Vaagu – overflowing on the road. The flow was menacingly fierce. As they had to make the journey, the father took the car forward, trying to negotiate their way through the swollen stream.
Unfortunately for them, as soon as they entered the stream, their car was swept away by a powerful current. Ashwini’s father, while trying to control the vehicle as it was being washed away, called his son Ashok back home about their predicament. He immediately dialled 100 and sought help.
But as fate would have it, Ashwini’s body was found in an agricultural field two km downstream while her father’s whereabouts are still unknown and a rescue operation is underway to find his body. Adding to the sorrows, Ashwini was visiting her parents on the occasion of her brother’s engagement, which took place on 29 August.
Talking about the tragedy, Motilal’s friend Bansilal told South First, “I knew Ashwini and she always minded her own business. She was ambitious. She wanted to become a good scientist and make her family and the village proud. Even when her father wanted to find suitable guy to get her married to, she was firm that she will get married only after becoming successful in her career. They are a good family and what happened to them is unfortunate.”
Khammam district, which bore the brunt of the nature’s fury, has a number of such tragic stories to tell. Each of the deaths reported from the district has its own poignant diminution, making the point that life is transient and ephemeral. Neelamaiah and Ademma, who were about 70 years of age, were washed away in Toguvagu in Venkatapuram in Aswapuram mandal while they were asleep. According to sources, they were neighours and were fast asleep in their houses when the flood waters took them away along with them. The waters also washed away their cattle and sheep.
In some places, the grief has turned into anger. About nine people who were stranded on a bridge over Munneru vagu are unhappy with the government for not rescuing them and instead, leaving them to their fate. One of the minor girls in the group was seen asking what the three ministers from the district were doing.
She said no one did anything to help them while they were cowering in fear on the bridge, as the water level in the river kept increasing. They were on the bridge when the water level in Munneru suddenly increased, overflowing over the bridge, making it impossible for them to go in either direction.
Though the Telangana government tried to airlift them and sounded an SOS to Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam, the helicopter could not reach there due to inclement weather. This apart, dusk was settling over, making it more difficult to carry out the rescue operation using a helicopter. At about 10 pm, the authorities rescued them by sending a JCB to where they were stranded.
The deluge that hit Khammam district left a trail of destruction besides taking three lives. There is no word about two other persons who had been washed away in the swollen rivulets in the district. The authorities are trying to ensure supply of essential commodities to those who have been shifted to camps and are reaching out to those who are stranded with the help of rescue teams. The rains have caused dislocation in erstwhile Nalgonda and Warangal districts in the state.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy at a review meeting on Monday, 2 September and announced ₹10,000 per acre as compensation for the damage suffered by farmers due to the unforeseen floods. The preliminary estimate indicates that damage to the crops is estimated to be at 1.5 lakh acres. But unofficial reports suggest that crops in about four lakh acres been inundated. He asked the officials to commence enumeration work immediately to hand over relief to the victims.
Th Chief Minister urged the centre to declare the floods as national calamity and help the state tide over the crisis. The chief minister requested Prime Minster Narendra Modi to visit the state and see for himself the crisis that the state was going through. The back of the envelope estimate puts the loss in monetary terms at ₹5,000 crore.
The CM wants the centre to release at least ₹2,000 crore immediately. He asked Union ministers G Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay to get funds from the centre for the state. Suryapet district recorded 30 cm of rainfall, highest in the state.
The CM sought details form officials and the reasons for the sudden and intensive downpour which was unprecedented. The officials responded that the phenomenon was rare and used to happen once in five or 10 years but the frequency over the last few years has increased. They told him that experts were trying to find the actual reasons for the sudden change in nature’s behaviour.
The chief minister announced ₹5 lakh compensation to the kin of those whose family members died in the floods. He also announced ₹5 crore each as immediate assistance to the flood hit districts of Khammam, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Mahbubabad and Suryapet.
In an important decision, the chief minister ordered constitution of Telangana Disaster Response Force (TFDRF) to tackle situations arising out calamities like the present rains and floods. He suggested one third of policemen who are young in all the eight battalions be given NDRF-like training and deploy them for rescue and relief work in times of natural calamities like the present rains.
“As the centre takes time in dispatching NDRF teams, the state should have its own force ready,” he said. He further asked the officials to procure the necessary equipment regardless of how much it costs. The teams should be trained and be ready before the on set of monsoon every year, he said.
He asked the power utilities to restore power wherever there was disruption and lauded the power utilities in restoring power in several areas even though 25 huge power transmission towers had collapsed.
(Edited by Neena)
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