Heavy rains continued to lash several parts of South Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions on Monday, disrupting traffic on several stretches, leaving several streets under sheets of water and affecting normal life.
Meteorological authorities said North East Monsoon has been vigorous over Rayalaseema. In coastal Andhra Pradesh, Sullurpeta in Nellore received 26 cm rainfall, Tada (25), Venkatagiri (17), Gudur (16) Atmakur (16), Kavali (11), Nellore (11), Avanigadda in Krishna recorded 2 cm, Ongole 1 cm and Bapatla 1 cm.
In Rayalaseema region, Tirupati recorded 22 cm, Thottambedu, Chittoor 22 cm, Puttur 20 cm, Satyavedu 20 cm, Kodur in Kadapa 17 cm, Srikalahasti 15 cm, Palasamudram 15 cm, Nagari 13 cm and Ananthrajpeta in Kadapa 11 cm.
Due to incessant rains, road traffic in many villages, including Naidupeta, Sullupeta, Venkatagiri and Guduru was disrupted in Nellore District. Similarly, traffic in few villages, at Chandragiri and Railway Koduru of Chittoor District was affected badly.
Pilgrims heading to the Tirumala faced a lot of inconvenience as traffic on the second ghat road was diverted to the first ghat road following heavy rains. Those trekking the seven hills through Alipiri footpath too had tough time in reaching Tirumala. The footpath from Srinivasa Mangapuram has been closed for few days following land slips and repair works. All the dams in Tirumala were full to the brim following the heavy rains since yesterday.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu before leaving for the Agriculture University foundation laying in Guntur, held a teleconference with collectors of six districts, including Chittoor, Kadapa, Kurnool, Anantapur, Nellore and Prakasam.
He directed the officials to repair the breaches of canals at the earliest and deploy one senior authority to monitor the water levels in each river across the State. He instructed them to divert the rain water to rivulets and rivers to facilitate increase in ground water levels.
He enquired about the flood levels in Krishnapuram and Kalingi reservoirs in Chittoor district. Authorities informed that after a span of 15 years Papananasam, Akasaganga, Gogarbham and Kalyani reservoirs in Tirumala received heavy inflows.
Mr. Naidu directed them to take measures to avoid any inconvenience to the people and also wanted them to examine the possibilities of going for a new crop this season in Nellore.
