Army personnel deployed in Hyderabad after three days of incessant rainfall

Army personnel were deployed in Hyderabad and other parts of Telangana on Saturday to conduct rescue operations after the state went under water following three days of heavy rainfall, reported PTI. While a team visited areas in Alwal in Ranga Reddy district to assess the situation, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said a 60-member National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team has been kept on standby in Hyderabad.

"The army has been given maps and other information of areas like Gachibowli, Nizampet, Alwal and Hakimpet. They are willing to swing into action whenever we call them," a government official told NDTV. Apart from the army and NDRF, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and NGOs have also joined hands to help marooned people. Various charitable organisations are providing food packets to those affected by the rain. All educational institutions in Telangana have been asked to remain shut on Saturday while information technology companies in Hyderabad have allowed employees to work from home.

The neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh is also reeling under similar conditions. Seventeen people have died so far in the two states in rain-related incidents. The K L Rao Sagar reservoir in the state is almost filled. Heavy rainfall in the region has affected the tran services with trains between Guntur and Secunderabad suspended for the second consecutive day on Saturday.

There is still no respite in sight as the Indian Meteorological Department on Saturday predicted "heavy to very heavy" rainfall in isolated places across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. MeT department director (in-charge) YK Reddy told the Times of India, "It’s far from over. We have issued a five-day alert now and the intensity of the rains could be the same."

Both states reported traffic jams, power cuts and drinking water problems.