Rains in Andhra, Telangana: WFH for IT sector employees in Hyderabad, Modi assures help to Naidu, Reddy -- top points

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have been ravaged by torrential rains over the past 2 days. The heavy downpour led to massive traffic snarls and many trains getting either cancelled or diverted. In both the southern states, rivers swelled up and national and state disaster response forces evacuated thousands of people to relief camps.

People living in low-lying areas in Hyderabad have been shifted to relief camps due to the heavy downpour. Hyderabad District Collector Anudeep Durishetty asked officials to monitor water levels in lakes, ponds and floodwater reserves regularly. The gates will be opened to release excess water as the water levels in Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar reservoirs are rising due to heavy rains, Durishetty said. 

Top points to know

1. Hyderabad traffic police has urged IT and ITES firms to allow their employees to work from home today to reduce the traffic congestion and ensure that emergency services are not hindered. 
2. Given heavy rains and inundation, all schools and colleges have been closed in Hyderabad on Monday. 
3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu and Telangana CM Revanth Reddy to enquire about the situation in these states due to heavy rains and floods. 
4. PM Modi assured both the Chief Ministers of all possible assistance from the Centre to overcome the situation, government sources told Business Today. 
5. Modi said that departments have been instructed to dispatch all necessary equipment immediately and Naidu thanked Modi for the help. 
6. The Centre has deployed 26 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams for flood relief work and rescue operations in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. 
7. The South Central Railway (SCR) cancelled 140 trains and diverted 97 more on Sunday. The railways also made alternative travel arrangements by arranging buses from Rayanapaud to Vijayawada and Kondapalli to Vijayawada. 
8. Low-cost airline IndiGo on Sunday warned of possible delays in flights to and from Hyderabad due to inclement weather. The airline urged passengers to check their flight schedules before reaching the airport and allow extra time to reach the airport due to heavy waterlogging. 
9. In Telangana, the weather department issued a red alert for very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places in Adilabad, Nizamabad, Rajanna Sircilla, Yadadri, Mahabubnagar, Bhuvanagiri, Vikarabad, Sangareddy and Kamareddy districts on September 2. 
10. The IMD has predicted thunderstorms accompanied by lightning in parts of Andhra Pradesh for 4 days from September 2-5. The weather department predicted thunderstorms at isolated places in North Coastal Andhra Pradesh (NCAP), Yanam, South Coastal Andhra Pradesh (SCAP) and Rayalaseema on Monday. 
11. In Andhra Pradesh, parts of Srikakulam, Vijayanagaram, Parvatipuram Manyam, Alluri Sitarama Raju, Kakinada and Nandyala districts are likely to receive heavy rainfall. 
12. Both the states are witnessing incessant rainfall due to a depression over north Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha coasts, which has moved northwestwards to cross Andhra Pradesh's coast near Kalingapatnam on Sunday early morning, as per an IMD official.