Hyderabad: Two sluice gates of the Osmansagar reservoir were raised on Wednesday, for the first time this monsoon, as heavy water inflows continued into the reservoir from upstream areas.
Officials of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) said that two gates at the Gandipet reservoir were lifted by a foot each to release water downstream, given the red alert issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
At present, two gates each of the Himayatsagar and Osmansagar have been lifted, releasing a total of 1,566 cusecs of floodwater into the Musi River.
The current water level of Himayatsagar is 1,761.2 feet, against the full water level of 1,763.5 feet, with an inflow of 1,200 cusecs and an outflow of 1,350 cusecs.
The current water level of Osmansagar is 1,787 feet, against the full water level of 1,790 feet, with an inflow of 800 cusecs and an outflow of 216 cusecs.
On Wednesday, the highest rainfall in the state was recorded in Bhadradri Kothagudem district, where Karakagudem received 19.9 cm of rainfall. This was followed by Cherla, at 14.18 cm, and Sujathanagar, at 12.8 cm, according to the Telangana Development and Planning Society report.
In the city limits, the highest rainfall, of 2.5 cm, was recorded in Shaikpet, while Quthbullapur recorded the second-highest figure, of 1.73 cm.
According to the IMD, moderate to heavy rains with a wind speed of 40 kmph were recorded in Adilabad, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Jagtial, Karimnagar, Mancherial, Peddapally, Wanaparthy and Yadadri Bhuvangiri.
Alert continues
The IMD’s red alert will continue for another day in Khammam, Nalgonda, Vikarabad, Suryapet, Sangareddy, Medak, Yadadri Bhuvangiri and Kamareddy.
An orange alert was issued for Hyderabad, Nirmal, Nizamabad, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Mahbubababd, Siddipet, Rangareddy, Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Hanamkonda, Jangaon, Mulugu, Narayanpet, Medchal-Malkajgiri, Nagarkurnool, Jogulamba Gadwal, Jayashankar Bhupalapally and Narayanpet districts.
A flash flood risk (FRR) warning was also issued for the next 24 hours for watersheds in Peddapally, Jayashankar Bhupalapally, Mulugu, Nizamabad, Kamareddy, Vikarabad, Jagtial, Medak, Jogulamba Gadwal, Wanaparthy, Mahbubnagar and Narayanpet districts.
The state will also experience thunderstorms and lightning accompanied by gusty winds of 40-50 kmph, besides heavy downpours, the IMD said.
For the next 48 hours, the city will experience moderate to heavy rains with intense spells and surface winds of 10-12 kmph. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to drop to 27 degrees Celsius (°C) and 22°C, respectively.
