Centre sends nine NDRF teams to Telangana for rescue operations

Hyderabad, Sep 1 (IANS) The Centre is sending nine teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to Telangana for rescue and relief in areas affected by heavy rains and flash floods, Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar said on Sunday.

He said the teams were dispatched to Telangana on the orders of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, adding three teams each coming from Chennai, Visakhapatnam, and Assam.

Bandi Sanjay said that he informed Amit Shah about the severe situation in Telangana's Khammam district, where 110 villages have been submerged.

He said he told the Union Home Minister that nine people were stranded on Prakash Nagar hillock, 68 people on Azmeera Thanda hillock in Palair constituency, and 42 others were trapped in buildings. He also said that he spoke to senior NDRF officials to coordinate the rescue efforts.

The Union Minister also discussed the situation and the ongoing rescue operations with Telangana’s Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy. He urged NDRF teams to synchronise their efforts and carry out the relief operations efficiently.

NDRF teams are already in action following the central government’s directives, he said.

Residential colonies along the Munneru River in Khammam district were submerged, and people trapped in these colonies have climbed onto the rooftops and were waiting for help. Meanwhile, NDRF teams already deployed in Khammam were trying to rescue people trapped in Rakasi Thanda. Helicopters could not be pressed into service for rescue operations due to the inclement weather and the NDRF personnel were using boats to rescue trapped people.

Heavy rains have been lashing several parts of Telangana since Saturday under the impact of a depression in the Bay of Bengal and the active monsoon. Lakes, tanks, ponds and other water bodies were overflowing, leading to inundation of low-lying areas. The met office has issued a red alert for 11 districts, where extremely heavy rainfall is likely in the next 24 hours.

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