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Suresh Dharur
Tribune News Service
Hyderabad, September 24
The Army stepped in today to assist the civic authorities in evacuating people and distributing food and medicine in submerged areas as the city bore the brunt of torrential rains for the fourth consecutive day.
Four columns of Army have been deployed in the rain-affected areas while a 60-member National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team has been kept on the standby in the city. Eight Army task force teams of 40 men each have been deployed in submerged areas along with boats, medicines and rescue equipment.
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“We are at this moment providing food and medical aid to the stranded people. We will evacuate them if need arises,” said Maj Jamwal after visiting the worst affected Bhandari Layout in Nizampet area, close to the city’s IT hub. An officer of the rank of a Major heads each column deployed in the worst-affected areas.
Normal life has been thrown out of gear and several low-lying areas were inundated as the city received the highest rainfall in the last 100 years.
Heavy rainfall was expected till September 28. Almost all the 10 districts in Telangana recorded a rainfall of over 20 cm in the last few days. Nizampet is the worst affected area. At the government’s request, Nasscom has asked the IT companies to allow staff to work from home.
The government also kept two private helicopters ready to transport people from submerged areas, while 17 trains have been cancelled in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
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