Gusty winds take two lives in Hyderabad

Heavy winds accompanied by rains claimed two lives, including that of a six-year-old child, in the State capital on Monday evening. The force of the winds was such that one of the four floodlight towers at Lal Bahadur Stadium was uprooted, instantly killing a person and injuring another.

The extremely windy conditions across Hyderabad just lasted a few minutes, but left a trail of destruction. Reports of trees and electricity poles getting uprooted and falling in the middle of the road and obstructing traffic came in from several locations in Hyderabad.

 

According to GHMC officials, T Satya Subrahmanyam, Superintendent, GST Hyderabad, was killed and his colleague M Ramesh was injured when the floodlight tower installed at the tennis court end in the LB stadium collapsed around 8 p.m. Both were rushed to Care Hospitals, Nampally where doctors declared Satya Subrahmanyam as brought dead. According to doctors, Ramesh, another GST employee, suffered fractures in the legs and is said to be out of danger.

In another incident, a six-year-old boy, Navneet Raju, died when a shed caved in a penthouse in Shankarnagar at Chaderghat. Trees got uprooted at Secunderabad Military Hospital, Old Alwal, Tarnaka, Cancer hospital, Banjara Hills, and Vengalrao Park.

In the city, the highest wind speed of 25 kmph was recorded in Lakdikapul, while the highest rainfall of 18.5 mm was



recorded in Malkajgiri. West Marredpally and Qutbullapur received 15 mm rainfall, said an official from Telangana State Development Planning Society. A portion of the third floor in the GHMC head office was damaged and window panes on the fifth, sixth and seventh floor were damaged due to heavy wind. The canopy in the north stand of the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium at Uppal was also blown away by the winds.

There were also reports of power upsurge in a few parts of Secunderabad, which led to power outages in a clutch of residential colonies. Widespread power shutdowns were also reported from several regions of the capital due to heavy winds and thundershowers. GHMC received 40 different complaints from many areas. All the eight teams of Disaster Response Force, GHMC, rushed to the affected areas and cleared the uprooted trees and water stagnation to ensure free flow of traffic.

Complaints poured in from different areas on water stagnation, including Lalapet, Laxminagar, Tarnaka and Secunderabad. Traffic on several stretches was affected and power supply was disrupted in many areas across the city. At a few places, including Secunderabad Club, Shivam road, electric poles fell down, disrupting power supply and affecting traffic movement. The Hyderabad MET authorities said that rain or thundershowers would occur towards evening or night on Tuesday.