Sharp showers lashed Ongole and other parts of Prakasam district on Friday as the southwest monsoon turned active, giving impetus to farm operations in the district which witnessed drought in the last three years.
In a short span of two hours, the city received 9 mm rainfall inundating several roads in the city, including arterial Kurnool and 60 Foot Roads, in the afternoon.
The district received an average rainfall of 197.7 mm rainfall as against the normal rainfall of 181.9 mm since June.
Weather officials predicted more rains in the next 48 hours as the north-south trough which runs from coastal Andhra Pradesh to Gulf of Mannar and extends upto 0.9 Km above mean sea level.
Thanks to desilting of storm-water drains, arterial roads were cleared of rain water by the evening. The situation was quite different in colonies in the low-lying areas as well as those on the outskirts, which had been merged to upgrade the civic body into a municipal corporation four years ago.
Roads at Kesarajakunta, Indiramma Colony, Puli Venkat Reddy Colony, Balram Colony, Jayaprakashnagar, Maruthi Colony and Pragathi Nagar were in a sheet of water. Water collected in vacant plots added to the misery of people in colonies on the city outskirts
Motorists had a harrowing time avoiding potholes filled with rain water. P.V.R.M. Boys High School ground was fully flooded.
A proposal to modernise the Potharaju canal at a cost of ₹65 crore was still hanging fire.
Once the canal, which is considered the sorrow of Ongole, is widened the city would be in a position to face worst cyclonic storms, Ongole Municipal Commissioner S.Venkatakrishna said. The project involved rehabilitation of 500 families living on both sides of the canal.
The current spell of rains gave a push to farm operations with sowings going up to 90,371 hecares, 40% of the normal acreage during kharif, said Agriculture Joint Director J.Muralikrishna. Farmers went for red gram in a maximum of 44,000 hectares so far (68% of normal acerage), he added. Farmers refrained from chilli cultivation in the wake of market crash last year, he said, adding “we are discouraging farmers from growing cotton.”
