A man attempting to cross a canal slipped and got washed away due to heavy water currents in the outskirts of Hyderabad on Saturday. As of Sunday morning, police recovered the body of the 45-year-old, identified as K Jahangir, among the bushes at a little distance from where he slipped.
In the video footage of the incident that has emerged, shot by local residents, the man is seen trying to cut across a canal towards the villagers. The villagers can be heard asking the man to stop his attempt to cross, but the man presses on. He then slips and gets carried away by the heavy water current. This is the third such accident in Hyderabad in September. Earlier, a 45-year-old man and a 12-year-old girl died in a similar manner. The incident took place on Saturday under the Kondurgu Police station limits in the Cyberabad commissionerate of Hyderabad.
Speaking to TNM, the Shamshabad Deputy Commissioner of Police, N Prakash Reddy said the deceased, Jahangir was a resident of Viswanathpur village and was drunk at the time of the accident. The officer said, the man was not responding to repeated pleas by the locals to not cross the canal. ”He didn't listen to them as he was drunk; in his bag he was carrying some household items,” said the officer who added, “We recovered his body Sunday morning from bushes a little distance away from where he slipped.”
Due to heavy rainfall, a man was swept away in a canal at #Kondurg in #Cyberabad limits on Saturday while crossing the stream. pic.twitter.com/kup9tUYrI6
— TOI Hyderabad (@TOIHyderabad) September 26, 2020
Hyderabad through Friday and Saturday received heavy rainfall that saw urban flooding across several pockets in the city. The IMD had issued an Orange Alert for the city on Sunday.
Officials on Saturday night had opened the gates of Himayath and Osman Sagar reservoirs. Following this, district authorities issued a flood warning alert to all those staying along the banks of the Musi river that flows through the Hyderabad city.
Cyberabad police say they have gone to the grassroots levels to spread awareness among the public on the heavy flow of water, “For the past two days when the IMD alerts came, our police constables altered the local sarpanches and made announcements asking the public not to go into the water. We told them that if roads get washed away, don't try to cross it,” he added.