41 stranded in Peddavagu floodwaters rescued

Kothagudem: Incessant rains and release of water from the Peddavagu medium irrigation project led to flooding and 41 people, including some workers and a shepherd, were stranded on a low-level bridge in Aswaraopeta mandal on Thursday.

As the sudden floods inundated the area, four shepherds climbed on to a tree at Bachuvaridgudem in the mandal and appealed for help as the water level continued to rise. On the low-level bridge at Narayanapuram, some people got stuck as they could not move to safer places. The NDRF teams and district administration rushed to the spot. Minister for Agriculture Tummala Nageswara Rao and Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy consulted the Chief Minister’s Office and organized a helicopter to rescue all those who were stranded in flood waters.

District Collector Jitish V Patel and SP B Rohit Raju supervised the rescue operation. About 20 of them were brought to a safer place by a boat and others were rescued with the help of a helicopter.