Over 1,000 members rehabilitated at rescue centres in Tirupati district

1,183 people moved to safety in Tirupati due to heavy rains; pregnant women relocated to health centers.

Around 1,183 persons from 52 habitations have been moved to safety in the designated rescue centres across Tirupati district on Wednesday, as rains continuously battered the south-eastern region.

Following orders of District Collector S. Venkateswar, officials have identified 59 pregnant women, with delivery dates marked in less than a week, and moved them to Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs) as a precautionary measure.

As the district recorded an average rainfall of 40.40mm from dawn to dusk on Wednesday, Yerpedu mandal recorded the highest rainfall of 98.80 mm. The water bodies are under constant surveillance by officials and there were no instances of the bund developing breaches till late on Wednesday. However, the district administration has readied 5,000 sand bags in case of emergencies and parked fifty tippers at sensitive locations for rescue measures.

Kandaleru reservoir, which has a full storage capacity of 68 TMC, has 33.15 TMC till now. The inflow from upper reaches into the reservoir is 5,600 cusecs, while the outflow is pegged at 345 cusecs. Similarly, Kalangi reservoir has 0.078 TMC of water against its full storage capacity of 0.240 TMC. On the other hand, Araniar project has 0.682 TMC against its full storage capacity of 1.85 TMC, with the inflow estimated at 1,660 cusecs.

The Panchayat Raj department has identified 143 rural roads as ‘vulnerable’ and mobilised personnel, 107 earthmovers and 53 power saw cutters to their vicinity. Water started flowing over four causeways, forcing the authorities to clamp restrictions on traffic movement.