Sircilla: An under-construction bridge collapsed, several colonies and low-lying areas in Sircilla and Vemulawada towns as well as surrounding villages were inundated by floodwater which also submerged roads at various places following heavy rains for three days at Rajanna Sircilla district.
Vemulawada recorded the district’s highest 212.1 mm rainfall followed by Sircilla (184.9 mm), Boinpally mandal (173.4 mm), Konaraopet mandal (162.5 mm) and Gambhiraopet (142.7 mm).
The Mid-Manair Dam (Sri Raja Rajeshwara reservoir) was receiving 87,710 cusecs of water. Following reports of more heavy rain in the catchment areas, officials were releasing 1,06,703 cusecs of water. The dam had 24.143 tmc ft (thousand million cubic feet) of water against its capacity of 27.5 tmc ft.
All the 660 lakes in the district were full, officials said.
Crops in Vemulawada, Sircilla, Gambiraopet, Yellareddypet, Chandurthi, Ellanthakunta, Mustabad and Konaraopet mandals were affected due to the heavy rains. Agriculture department officials are conducting a survey to estimate the crop loss.
The under-construction bridge which collapsed was constructed on the Mulavagu in Vemulawada at a cost of Rs 29 crore. It had first collapsed during heavy rain in 2019, and construction work was not resumed after that.
The new Rs 36-crore collectorate complex which was constructed on 30 acres was inundated. Sources said this was the result of lack of a drainage system. The complex stands on the land where the Damarakunta lake once stood, and no steps were taken to divert the inflow of water from China Bonalu, Musthapally and Chandrampet lakes upstream.
IT minister and Sircilla MLA K.T. Rama Rao spoke with district collector Anurag Jayanti, superintendent of police Rahul Hegde and municipal commissioner Srinivas Rao to take stock of the damage.
He directed officials to speed up rescue and relief operations and set up rehabilitation centres for flood-affected people.
The minister said Disaster Response Force (DRF) teams were sent to Sircilla to carry out rescue operations and asked the officials to take immediate steps to clear floodwater as more rain was being forecast.
District collector Anurag Jayanti said that a 24-hour special control room was established for flood-affected persons.
In a statement, the collector said people can dial 9398684240 to convey information regarding property and crop loss caused by the heavy rain.
District SP Rahul Hegde appealed to the people not to venture out in view of the heavy flow of water in the Manair river and urged them to inform the police in case of any untoward incident.
He appealed to visitors at the Mid Manair and Upper Manair dams not to risk their lives in the name of selfie photos and not to cross bridges and roads where there is heavy flow of water.
