Five of family rescued as heavy rain lashes Anantapur, Kurnool dists.

National Highway damaged in Kurnool, traffic affected

Vehicles were stranded on the national highway as traffic was hit following heavy rain in Kurnool on Sunday. | Photo Credit: SUBRAMANYAM U

Five members of a family had a miraculous escape at R. Kottala village near Donekal in Vidapanakal mandal of Anantapur district on Sunday morning when they tried to cross an overflowing stream on NH 67.

The car entered the water and suddenly the driver realised that the flow was too strong to cross, so stopped the car and cried out for help. Villagers immediately came to their rescue and with the help of a rope brought all of them out of the car and pulled it out of the stream with the help of a tractor. The family was returning to Ballari after visiting the Anjaneyaswamy temple at Kasapuram in Guntakal mandal.

Heavy vehicular traffic got affected for some time and others took a circuitous diverted route to reach Ballari. 

Vidapanakal mandal recorded 84.2 mm rainfall overnight, the highest in the district, till Sunday morning. Guntakal mandal recorded 32 mm of rain, while Narpala had 54 mm and Yadiki 42 mm.

In Kurnool district, Kallur recorded 40 mm rain and Kurnool city 26.2 mm, which led to National Highway No.44 within the city turning into a large lake with bridge construction work going on for the past four years. While a bridge is being constructed on the main carriageway the service roads have not been developed or maintained properly leading to large potholes.

Traffic was extremely slow and lorries got stranded for a couple of kilometres on the highway. Kurnool police regulated the traffic but some two-wheelers slipped and tumbled over large invisible boulders on the water-logged road. Chippagiri and Tuggali mandals too received heavy rainfall leading to farmlands coming under a sheet of water.