Army steps into rescue operations 

Army and NDRF teams are in service in Hyderabad and are radu to move into other parts of the state.  At least eight people were killed in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as incessant rains continued to batter parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on Friday.

Hyderabad saw the third straight day of heavy rainfall, prompting the Telangana government to ask IT companies to allow employees to work from home as it sought Army’s help in rescue operation in some areas. More rain is expected in Hyderabad and other parts of the state. MET has already alerted the state government in this regard.

The Telanagana government declared a holiday for educational institutions in Greater Hyderabad area and the holidays could be extended..

“Army personnel  have 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,” an official said.

Telangana Minister for Municipal Administration KT Rama Rao has made an appeal to those who live in low-lying areas to move to safer places. He said the government has kept two helicopters ready as part of the rescue operations.

Some localities in the low-lying areas of Miyapur, Bachupalli and Nizampet continue to be inundated since the last two days. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation or GHMC has been supplying food packets to the people in rain-affected areas.

Andhra Pradesh reported four new rain-related deaths which took the number to nine – six in Guntur district, three in Visakhapatnam. In Medak district of neighbouring Telangana, four people were killed and six others injured in separate rain-related incidents.

In Andhra Pradesh, the K L Rao Sagar reservoir is almost filled due to copious showers in Guntur and the upper catchment areas of the Krishna river.