Telangana rains: Part of Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway submerged, traffic diverted

Hyderabad, Sep 1 : Movement of traffic came to a halt on Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway as flood water submerged the highway near Suryapet in Telangana.

Water from overflowing tanks inundated part of National Highway 65, bringing vehicular traffic to a halt.

Authorities were diverting the vehicles heading to Vijayawada from Hyderabad via Narketpally, Addanki, and Khammam.

NH-65 is a key road link connecting Hyderabad to Vijayawada in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. It passes through the united Nalgonda district.

Heavy rains have been lashing Nalgonda and Suryapet districts since Saturday, inundating low-lying areas and cutting off road links to some villages.

Water from overflowing tanks and lakes entered residential areas in Huzurnagar and Kodad constituencies. Rainwater also entered houses in Miryalguda in Nalgonda district.

Heavy rains wreaked havoc on Kodad. Two persons were washed away in flood water. One of them was found dead in a car which was washed away in a stream. He was identified as Ravi.

A person riding a bike was washed away along with the vehicle on Saturday night. His body was found on Sunday. The deceased was identified as Venkateshwarlu, a teacher.

Meanwhile, vehicular traffic also came to a halt from Uppal to Medipally in Medchal Malkajgiri district on the outskirts of Hyderabad as the highway was submerged by rainwater.

In another incident, the compound wall of Gandhi Bhavan, the state headquarters of Congress party in Nampally area of Hyderabad, collapsed due to heavy rains. A few cars parked close to the wall were damaged. No one was injured in the incident.

Heavy rains have been lashing several parts of Telangana since Saturday. The met office has issued a red alert for 11 districts. Extremely heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places in these districts over the next 24 hours, the met office said on Sunday.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy reviewed the situation at an emergency meeting. He appealed to people to remain indoors.