Heavy rain lashed Srikakulam district on Friday, providing much-needed relief to the farmers although normal life was thrown out of gear in the early hours.
Over 4 cm of rainfall was recorded in several places of the district, including Srikakulam town, due to downpour followed by heavy gales.
Agricultural scientists said that pre-monsoon rains would be helpful for the agricultural activity, particularly for paddy, which was cultivated on over 4.5 lakh acres in the district.
According to them, the district would witness heavy rainfall in the next couple of weeks with the onset of monsoon.
Indian Meteorological Department has also anticipated above normal rainfall in Andhra Pradesh too. Agriculture professor of Naira College J. Jagannatham said that the rains would help agriculture immensely although horticulture crops such as mango, banana and others got damaged by gales.
Lightning kills one
Lightning killed Rama Naidu in Madduvalasa village of Vangara Mandal in the early hours of Friday. People were frightened because of continuous thunders at many places, including Srikakulam town.
Srikakulam municipal authorities took steps to clear the garbage from drainages to ensure free flow of rainwater.
With the lack of underground drainage system, many low-lying areas got inundated due to heavy downpour.
Collector P. Lakshmi Narasimham reviewed the rain situation in the district and asked revenue and agriculture departments to gear up to handle the works in fields.
