Rains Plug Deficit Gap, More on the Way, Stay Alert, Officials Told

Hyderabad: The ongoing heavy rain over Telangana has not only brought welcome relief to farmers, but have also helped the state wipe off a significant part of the 30 per cent rainfall deficit that Telangana had registered until a couple of days ago.

In addition, the rain over Telangana, and more significantly in the catchment areas of Krishna and Godavari rivers in Maharashtra and parts of Karnataka, also have resulted in some significant inflows in reservoirs on both rivers in Telangana, giving a much-needed shot in the arm for the state’s water reserves.

Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, who on Thursday reviewed the ongoing rainfall situation officials from the revenue and disaster management departments, called on them to be on the alert for any exingencies as the India Meteorological Department had warned of possible heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in various districts on Thursday, as well as into Friday.

He said officials across various districts – particularly in Adilabad, Komuram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial, Nirmal, and Jagtial for which the IMD had issued a red alert —and for Nizamabad, Kamareddy, Rajanna Sircilla, Karimnagar, Peddapalli, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, and Mulugu districts which are under an orange alert must be on their toes to respond immediate to any emergency situation and carry out relief operations.

While a significant portion of the rainfall deficit has been made up over the past couple of days, according to the Telangana State Planning Development Society, the average statewide deficit as on Thursday stood at 11 per cent, down from the 30 per cent which was beginning to worry the government.

This change was driven by 21 of the 33 districts in the state which have now reached ‘normal’ rainfall status with nine of them recording overall rainfall in the positive, while 12 still lagged behind in the red. The situation is expected to get better by the end of this week with more rains predicted over the next couple of days.

With respect to Hyderabad city, the minister said steps must be taken to avoid disruptions to power and drinking water supplies, adding that measures must be put in place to ensure smooth traffic and transportation. The HYDRAA, GHMC, and the traffic police should work in coordination to prevent traffic problems and ensure that people's daily lives are not disrupted, he said.

Srinivas Reddy said preventive safety measures must be taken near streams, rivulets, tanks, and reservoirs. People living in vulnerable areas should be alerted, and if necessary, immediately shifted to safe locations or relief camps, he said, adding that district collectors must ensure coordinated responses from the police, revenue, panchayat raj, municipal administration, electricity, irrigation, and health departments.