Two-year-old Jaswanth and his cousin, ten-year-old cousin Lalitha, lost their lives on Saturday, when the roof of an old building collapsed over them in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district. The children, who were in Aluru mandal to attend their relative’s wedding ceremony, were reportedly playing in a dilapidated building which collapsed because of the incessant rains in the district over the past week.
The district has seen heavy rains in the past few days, with streams and rivers overflowing with the heavy inflow of water. Kurnool District Collector G Veerapandian said that water has been released from the Srisailam dam as well as Gajuladinne project.
“We have alerted revenue, police, irrigation, electricity, medical and fire service authorities. The situation at Srisailam, Gajuladinne, Sunkesula, and Pothireddypadu dams, and Tungabhadra, Kundu and Handri rivers is being constantly monitored,” the Collector said.
He also asked people residing in low-lying villages to remain alert.
An intermediate student named Chandrashekhar also lost his life on Saturday, after being washed away in a stream. Chandrashekhar, a 17-year-old from Neravada village in Kalluru mandal, was crossing a stream called Vakkeravagu flowing through his village, when he reportedly slipped and was washed away with the water. While his friends tried to save him, they were unsuccessful, and his body was later found after it washed ashore nearby.
Incessant rains have continued across the district in each and every mandal and village, the Collector said.
According to reports, irrigation department officials have said that the inflows into the Handri Neeva project were at 25,000 cusecs and are expected to go up to 50,000 cusecs, if the heavy rains continue. Around 32,000 cusecs were released from the Gajuladinne project, Times of India reported.
Earlier this month, the Andhra Pradesh cabinet approved the establishment of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) AP Rayalaseema Drought Mitigation Project Development Corporation Ltd (APRDMPDCL). The body will be responsible for developing irrigation facilities in the Rayalaseema region -- which includes the districts of Kurnool, Anantapur, Chittoor and Kadapa, at an estimated cost of Rs 40,000 crore.