National Highway 5 between Nellore and Chennai was torn apart by angry flood waters from the Pambaleru stream on Tuesday and traffic on the nation’s artery was brought to a halt before being divered to alternative routes. One 20 m stretch of the highway near Manubolu was washed away by the stream brought to spate by unceasing rains that have been sweeping Nellore district since Sunday night.
As expected, streams and rivulets like the Swarnamukhi, Kalangi, Kaivalya and Pambaleru took in copious inflows and flood levels increased considerably overnight under the impact of downpours over Venkatagiri, Balayapalli, Guduru, Sullurupeta, Tada and nearby areas.
With no respite in rains, the authorities have chosen to wait till the water recedes to carry out repairs to the damaged highway.
The flood waters were so intense that the railings, divider and embankment of the highway torn up and carried far into the fields. The farms on either side of the highway have become huge ponds filled with rainwater.
Officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Nellore district administration were taken aback by the deep gash in the highway, something not seen in these parts for at least five years.
Nellore collector M. Janaki, who visited the breach on NH 5, said repair works would be taken up by Wednesday morning if the flood would ebb by then. “The highway will be reopened to traffic by day after tomorrow. In the meantime, traffic diversions between Chennai and Vijayawada have been enforced via Ongole and Kadapa,” she said.
The rains wrought other damage in the district. In the Chengalamma temple at Sullurupeta, the flood entered the sanctum sanctorum. The trust board of the temple has pressed in staff to bail out the water. The nearby Kalangi rivulet too is in spate following heavy inflows from its catchment area.
A bus, a car and an autorickshaw were struck in flood waters in the Pambaleru stream near Chaitanya Arts College in the Gudur area. Local people and policemen joined forces to rescue the 40 passengers in the bus throwing ropes to them. The bus was going from Tirupati to Guntur.
Seeing the intensity of the rain, the government has delegated two senior IAS officers, Ravi Chandra and A. Giridhar, to supervise after the rescue and rehabilitation efforts in the affected areas in Nayudupeta and Gudur respectively. They are expected to reach by Tuesday night.
Very heavy rains have been reported in interior areas in the southwestern parts of Nellore district. The fort town of Venkatagiri recorded 30 cm and the nearby Balayapalli area 33 cm.
