Nilam refuses to leave AP, toll 25

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Five days of relentless pounding by rain from Cyclone Nilam has left crops on over 5.25 lakh hectares of land damaged.

More than 12,000 houses have been damaged, and 67,000 people are living in relief camps. The death toll has risen to 25.

The Met department has predicted more rainfall in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East and West Godavari districts in the next couple of days. Rain is also indicated in coastal Andhra and Telangana.

Vizag, meanwhile, got some relief on Monday with 4 cm of rainfall being recorded against 17 cm on Sunday. However, other North Andhra districts were battered with incessant rain that has already resulted in damage or loss to paddy and several other crops spread over about 2.76 lakh hectares in East and West Godavari districts.

As many as 28 relief teams comprising 60 divers of the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) are engaged in the rain-affected districts of Visakhapatnam and West Godavari, said sources adding that 2,100 persons had been rescued till Monday evening by the ENC teams. Over 1,300 were evacuated from Anakapalli, Munagapaka regions alone.

Two Chetak helicopters and a Sea King helicopter of the Eastern Naval Command were deployed on Monday for dropping food packets in the villages. In Guntur district, heavy rains damaged paddy, chilli, cotton, and horticulture crops spread over 2.09 lakh acres while in Khammam, Kharif crops of paddy, cotton, chilli, maize and vegetables were damaged over an extent of 3.20 lakh acres.

The rains affected railway freight traffic on the Kothavalasa-Kirandul (KK) line.

Movement of goods and passenger trains on the VisakhapatnamKirandul line have been totally disrupted after huge boulders fell on the track at various places; also around 40 meters of tracks were washed away along the route.

Sources said the Subbareddy Sagar Project at Prathipadu mandal was under threat as water was flowing above the danger line there.

People of nearly six villages in the vicinity of the project are living in constant fear as the project may be breached anytime.

Meanwhile a 50-year old cotton farmer, identified as Ramulu, of Kapparla village in Tamsi mandal in Adilabad district committed suicide on Sunday by consuming pesticide as he was disappointed with the poor yield and crop damage caused by the rains.

Four people have died in West Godavari in the last three days; two of them were washed away in streams while two more had drowned in canals.