Even as the rains abated, flooding continued in several localities of Tirupati and Chittoor municipal corporations on Saturday. The municipal authorities went on a whirlwind visit of the affected areas, cautioning residents to move to safer places.
In Tirupati, a majority of the badly affected residential colonies along the foothills of Tirumala Hills from Leela Mahal junction to Karakambadi were seen gradually seen limping back to normalcy with receding water levels.
The residents who witnessed rainwater entering their houses at Madhura Nagar, Leela Mahal junction, Akkarampalle and Sivajyothi Nagar said that they were relieved with of rains stopping since Friday night, giving them time to set things right.
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At several localities, residents mostly complained of their motorcycles and pets getting washed away, and valuable documents and bank passbooks getting soaked. Residents of some localities went on a search to trace their bikes. The carcasses of the cattle, stray dogs, and some pets were removed to the outskirts for disposal.
Officials of Tirupati Municipal Corporation said that at present the water-logging was slowly receding all over the eastern side of the city, while the areas close to the Peruru Banda tank, which breached in the south-western side, were still under water.
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About 500 sanitation workers from the Kurnool district were deployed to clear choked drains, manholes, and clearing of garbage dumps, besides spraying disinfectants to prevent an outbreak of diarrhoea and viral fevers.
Owing to proximity to the breached Peruru and Tummalakunta tanks, the areas from SP Mahila University towards Krishna Nagar, MR Palle, Vaikuntapuram, Bairagipatteda, and some localities on the AIR Bypass roads were water-logged. The areas of Auto Nagar, Gollavanigunta on Tirupati-Renigunta road were also under water.
The force of the rainwater at the Kapilatheertham falls had started decreasing from Saturday morning, with no fresh rain in the upper reaches of Seshachalam ranges.
The APSRTC authorities launched a massive sanitation drive in their bus stations in Tirupati, and draining out the stagnant waters.
Water-logging
In Chittoor, the flooding from Gangineni Cheruvu and Kattamanchi stopped, while the areas along the Neeva River from Iruvaram to Murakambattu and NTR Jalasayam continued to witness water-logging. Municipal Commissioner P. Viswanath visited the affected localities and urged residents to move to relief centres. The residential areas between Gandhi Road and Santhapeta were under one-foot water.
After the flooding of the Tirupati-Kadapa road at Rajampeta, bus services were diverted towards Piler and Rayachoti. People reaching Tirupati from Hyderabad were opting to reach via Nellore instead of Kadapa.