Unseasonal showers lashed various parts of the district on Saturday causing damage to chilli, maize and other crops besides mango orchards in Khammam and Kothagudem divisions. The unexpected rain came as a rude shock to chilli growers as their harvested chilli crop stocked at kallams in their respective agricultural fields was inundated under the impact of heavy downpour in Tirumalayapalem, Nelakondapalli, Mudigonda, Chintakani, Madhira, Konijerla, Enkur, Julurupadu and several other mandals, sources said.
Several bags of cotton and groundnut stocks kept on the premises of the agriculture market yard in Khammam got soaked. Mango orchards in several villages in both Khammam and Kothagudem divisions bore the brunt of the unexpected showers, sources added. According to official sources, Tirumalayapalem mandal recorded the highest rainfall of 8 mm in the district. Meanwhile, the district administration dispatched teams comprising the officials of agriculture, horticulture and other departments to assess the impact of the unexpected showers at the field level.
Guntur: Heavy rain threw normal life out of gear in many parts of the district and compounded the woes of farmers as crop in thousands of acres was submerged.
Three persons -- Anjaiah, Edukondalu and Govindu -- died when they were struck by lightning in separate incidents in Epuru and Nujendla mandals.
All main roads in the city were waterlogged and motorists had a tough time in driving through the large pools of water. District Collector S. Suresh Kumar instructed officials of the Revenue and Agriculture Departments to make a preliminary assessment of the loss incurred by farmers and to take relief and rehabilitation measures. The officials were asked to be alert due to the possibility of more rain in the next few days.
