Heavy downpour batter Vishakapatnam, Tirupati; life thrown out of gear
Visakhapatnam/Tirupati: Thanks to the recklessness of private contractors, the TSR Choultry at King George Hospital has become a hellish place for attendees of poor patients who come from different parts of north coastal Andhra.
Heavy downpour early on Monday morning led to the ground floor of the choultry being inundated, forcing many people to take refuge in hospital wards and nearby cheap lodges. The inundation also caused a big portion of the choultry premises to cave in.
The choultry is on a downhill slope from the KGH, beside an under-construction ward. A manhole, which exists between the choultry and the under-construction ward, got choked due to the rains and water overflowed.
As the private builders had dumped construction material like gravel and sand on the downward slope from the drain, the overflowing water got diverted and flooded the choultry. Even though there are bunds in front of the choultry entrance as a preventive measure, they proved useless.
Staff clean the rooms inside the TSR Choultry at King George Hospital after the flood water entered the premises
A huge volume of water seeped in through the drains existing in the washing area of the choultry and filled the ground floor. More than a feet of water accumulated and 45 attendants of patients had to be shifted to the first floor.
Mr Anil, the in-charge of the choultry, said, “We had told the private contractors many times not to block the downward path from the drain with construction material but they pay no heed. The entire ground floor is filled and we won’t be provided with a pump to clear the water and will have to resort to mops and buckets, which will take a very long time. Even outside the building, stagnant water has created a lot of muck which needs to be cleared.”
Meanwhile, Tirupati and its suburbs were lashed by the heaviest rains of the season on Monday. Though the rains brought down the temperature, life was thrown out of gear.
Traffic jams choked most of the roads there was power shutdown in several areas. Several low-lying areas in the town were waterlogged.
