Army deployed in rain-affected areas of Hyd; NDRF on standby

Four columns of the Army have been deployed in rain-affected areas of Hyderabad and neighbouring Ranga Reddy district after heavy downpour wreaked havoc in the capital and other parts of Telangana cutting off low-lying areas.
Army troops have been moved into Begumpet, Nizampet and Hakimpet areas in the city and Alwal in Ranga Reddy district to provide necessary relief, according to a Defence release.
The Army has also set up a control room at GHMC (Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation) office and, in coordination with the GHMC and NDRF officials, is closely monitoring the situation round-the-clock, it said.
"Army columns are already on track to provide relief material and medical aid in slum areas of Alwal. Other columns of the Army have been kept on standby, to be deployed when required," the release added.

The Army officials had met GHMC Commissioner Janardhan Reddy during the wee hours today and apprised the administration that their forces are prepared to swing into action as and when called for.
Also, following instructions from Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, a 60-member National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team has been kept on the standby in the city.

Besides, the CM has ordered officials to set up control rooms in all the districts across the state to reach out to marooned people with necessary relief, said an official statement.
Some of the low lying areas in Hyderabad are still cut off from the rest of the city, even as GHMC and some NGOs are offering essential food items such as milk for relief of those affected.

The CM also instructed the officials to take necessary steps to prevent spread of communicable diseases.
Also, the district administration of Rangareddy, Khammam, Warangal and Medak besides GHMC have declared holiday for educational institutions today in view of heavy rains.
Yesterday, the Telangana government had said that it has kept two choppers ready to move people from low lying areas in the city, if necessary.
According to the weather report issued by the Indian
Meteorological Department today, "heavy to very heavy" rains are likely to occur at isolated places in Telangana.
Meanwhile, South Central Railway (SCR) today cancelled Guntur-Secunderabad Intercity Express and Secunderabad-Guntur Intercity express trains.

(REOPENS BOM 4)
According to an official release, Telangana government has approached Indian Air Force to rescue 21 civilians who are stranded in the Edupayala village of Medak district.
"Three Chetak helicopters of the Indian Air Force have been assigned the task to rescue the stranded people. Two rescue attempts were made, but unfortunately aborted due to heavy rains in the area. However, further attempts to rescue will be carried out," it said.
Meanwhile, three persons lost their lives in rain- related incidents at separate places in Medak district in the last 24 hours.
According to Venkatesham Circle Inspector, Sadasivpet, a 14-year-old boy, Prashanth fell inside a swelled water tank today in Aroor village under Sadasivpet police station limits after he lost balance while taking stock of the water level of the tank.

The body was yet to be recovered and search by divers were still on, the officer said.
In Narayankhed, 30-year-old Srinivas, a native of Antwar village, was washed away in heavy flow today while he was trying to cross a stream by walk, sub-inspector of Narayankhed Police Station, Raghunandan said.
The body is yet to be retrieved and search operation was on.
In another incident, a resident of Kondapak in the district, Bhaskar (28) was killed after he lost balance of his two-wheeler and was washed away while traversing through a water body last night on village outskirts.
His body was recovered this morning from a lake, one km away from incident spot, a police official said.