Chittoor district in southern Andhra Pradesh is one of the worst-hit by the rains that battered south India. So far, 28 people are believed to have died.
District Collector Siddharh Jain said, “Half the year’s rainfall was recorded from November 8 to 23. Agricultural loss is still being estimated, but so far the damage in other sectors is estimated at over Rs. 200 crore.”
A round 30,000 families were evacuated during the rains as swollen rivers flooded houses. The temple town of Tirupati was one of the worst hit.
Mr Jain said efforts were on to avoid a repeat of the flooding. “Tirupati, as a smart city, should not have flooding,” he said. The administration is now making efforts to slow down the speed of the water that cascades down the hills of Tirumala onto Tirupati below.
The heavy rains and rumours of damage to the temples of Tirumala and Tirupati had made many pilgrims cancel their plans to visit the temples. But despite a minor drop, the temples are drawing more than 50,000 people daily.
Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, whose constituency is in Chittoor district, has been closely monitoring the relief work.
The positive fallout is that most of the district’s 8000 tanks are full and the drinking water situation is much better than it was before the rains.
In Bengaluru, the November rains have broken a 99-year record. Till November 23, the rainfall in Bengaluru has touched 277.5 mm, crossing the highest recorded rainfall of 1916 — 252 mm.