Heavy rain in the Kuppam region led to the death of three persons as they were washed away in the swirling waters of rivulets at two places in Kuppam and Shantipuram mandals late on Thursday night.
Rural roads in Kuppam, Ramakuppam, Shantipuram, and V. Kota mandals were damaged at several places. Traffic snarls were witnessed on the Chittoor-Krishnagiri National Highway at V. Kota as gushing rainwater washed away the stretch. Following the heavy downpour, Ramakuppam mandal received a rainfall of 56.2 mm. Shantipuram mandal received a rainfall of 53.2 mm; Gudipalle 31 mm; and Kuppam 18 mm. Several rivulets criss-crossing Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh at the tri-State junction were in spate.
According to information, around midnight on Thursday, two of the six youth who were trying to cross the Palar riverbed at Pullur village on the Kuppam-Tamil Nadu border were washed away. They were identified as Devendran of Devarajapuram of Kuppam mandal and Rashid of Ramakuppam mandal. Their bodies were retrieved in a river near Vaniyambadi in Tamil Nadu.
Similarly, Venkatappa of Shantipuram mandal was washed away in the Karagatlu rivulet, and his body was found on the Karnataka border. The NH was damaged at two places between V. Kota and Krishnagiri.
Kuppam CI M. Rajasekhar said personnel had been deployed at all places prone to flooding, including hamlets abutting the Palar and the National highway.
He said with the lifting of 28 gates of Bethamangalam reservoir in Karnataka, the Palar had been receiving steady inflows since the last two days.
In the western mandals, Somala received heavy rain in the last 24 hours, and the Gargeya witnessed good inflows.
Collector P.S. Pradyumna inspected the hamlets close to the Gargeya and the Bahuda, and instructed the official machinery to be alert to any eventuality.
