Several trains cancelled as heavy rains damage railway track in Telangana
HYDERABAD — Heavy rains were lashing several parts of Telangana, inundating low-lying areas, paralysing normal life, and throwing road and rail traffic out of gear while the met office has issued a red alert for 11 districts.
Widespread rains under the impact of depression in Bay of Bengal and monsoon have been lashing Hyderabad, surrounding districts, and other parts of the state since Saturday night. Some parts of the affected districts were facing flood threats.
Some residential colonies in the state capital and other affected districts were inundated, causing severe inconvenience to residents.
Overflowing lakes, tanks and streams cut off villages at few places in Mahabubnagar and Nalgonda districts.
VIDEO | Various places in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana received heavy rainfall accompanied by strong surface winds on Saturday morning. Besides heavy rain, the IMD has forecast thunderstorms in isolated places across the region as the low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal… pic.twitter.com/oeyH4XIsNJ
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 1, 2024
In Warangal district, a bus of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation was caught in floods at Topanapalli. Passengers spent the night in the bus as flood water from a lake had submerged the road.
Several trains were stopped, cancelled and diverted as the railway track was damaged due to floods at a few places in Mahabubabad district.
In view of the heavy rains, the state government has opened a special control room at the State Secretariat to monitor the situation.
The Disaster Management Department has opened the control room with phone number 040-23454088.
Also read: Heavy rain inundates Guwahati, normal life affected
Two cars and an autorickshaw driver were washed away in flood water in Kodad town in Suryapet district. Body of a man was found in one of the cars. The fate of others travelling in cars and three-wheelers is not known.
Vehicular traffic on Khammam-Suryapet highway came to a halt as the highway was submerged by flood water.
Meanwhile, the water level was rising in Godavari river at Bhadrachalam in Bhadradri Kothagudem district. The water level was 27 feet on Sunday morning.
According to Telangana Development Planning Society, Huzurnagar in Suryapet district received the highest rainfall of 299.8 mm from 8.30 p.m. on Saturday to 6 a.m. on Sunday.
Inugurthy in Mahabubabad district recorded 298 mm rainfall. Chilkur in Suryapet district received 297.8 mm rainfall. Some areas in Mahabubabad, Khammam and Suryapet districts received 277 to 296 mm rainfall.
The met office has issued a red alert to 11 districts – Adilabad, Nirmal, Nizamabad, Mahbubabad, Jangaon, Kamareddy, Mahabubnagar, Nagarkurnool, Wanaparthy, Narayanpet and Jogulamba Gadwal. These districts are likely to receive extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places over the next 24 hours.
The met office has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in 11 other districts.
Heavy rains lashing Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have disrupted the train traffic in both states, resulting in stoppage, cancellation and diversion of several trains, officials said on Sunday.
As many as 24 trains were stopped on the Vijayawada-Kazipet route as the track was flooded with water overflowing from lakes and streams at few places. Officials said 30 trains were cancelled in Vijayawada division.
The railway track was damaged at a few places in Mahabubabad district in Telangana due to flood water. A tank breached at Ayodhya village near Mahabubabad, inundating the railway track. This forced the South Central Railway to cancel trains on the Vijayawada-Kazipet route.
The railway track was also damaged between Kesamudram and Intikanne. The concrete under the track was washed away due to floods.
Water was flowing above the railway track near Mahabubabad. The railway authorities stopped Simhadri and Machilipatnam express trains at Mahabubabad Railway Station. Gautami, Sanghamitra Kanga-Kaveri, Charminar, and Yeshwantpur express trains were also halted.
Mahabubnagar-Visakhapatnam Express was stopped at Pandillapalli for four hours as the track was flooded.
The cancelled trains include Vijayawada-Secunderabad (12713), Secunderabad-Vijayawada (12714), Guntur-Secunderabad (17201), Secunderabad-Sirpur Kaghaznagar (17233), Secunderabad-Guntur (12706) and Guntur-Secunderabad (12705).
Many trains were diverted by the authorities. Visakhapatnam-Nanded was diverted with all stoppages between Eluru and Secunderabad skipped. All stoppages of Visakhapatnam-Tirupati train Vijayawada and Secunderabad were skipped.
South Central Railway said that due to heavy rainfall in Andhra Pradesh, several trains are being diverted and cancelled to avoid inconvenience to the travelling passengers as a safety measure.
In order to facilitate passengers with train running information, South Central Railway has set up additional helpline numbers at important Railway Stations.
Helpline numbers are Hyderabad 27781500, Secunderabad 27786140, 27786170, Kazipet 27782660, 8702576430, Warangal 27782751, Khammam 27782985, 08742-224541, 7815955306, Vijayawada 7569305697, Rajahmundry 08832420541, Tenali 08644-227600, Tuni 7815909479, Nellore 7815909469, Gudur 08624-250795, Ongole 7815909489, Gudivada 7815909462 and Bhimavaram Town 7815909402.