Andhra Pradesh minister's son, friend dead in accident caused by heavy rain

The son of a senior Andhra Pradesh minister was killed in an accident caused by heavy rain that lashed Hyderabad in the early hours of Wednesday, police said.

Twenty two-year old P Nishit, son of Andhra Pradesh municipal administration minister P Narayana, was driving home in a Mercedez Benz car around 3am when he tried to swerve around a water-filled pothole on a partially inundated road and hit a metro rail pillar, police said.

The entire area had plunged in darkness at the time as power lines had snapped, and large chunks of the road were under water, sources added.

According to Jubilee Hills police inspector S Venkat Reddy, Nishit and his friend Raja Ravi Varma suffered serious injuries. Local residents rushed them to the Apollo Hospitals, where they were declared brought dead.

Nishit is the director of Narayana Group of Institutions, which produces several engineering and medical students every year.

The minister, who was visiting London, rushed to Hyderabad. His cousin Ganta Srinivasa Rao, another minister in the Chandrababu Naidu cabinet, also left for the capital



from Visakhpatnam.

The unseasonal rain, coupled with thunder and hailstorm, has wreaked havoc across the city and brought traffic to a standstill as people struggled to wade through knee and waist-deep water in several areas.

The upscale areas of Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, Madhapur, Punjagutta, Ameerpet, Yousufguda, Khairatabad, Begumpet and Secunderabad, were marooned. Trees and electric poles were uprooted at several places. Power supply was stopped in several areas for hours. As a precautionary measure, electrical lines were deactivated in many places.

An electric pole collapsed on the Taj Krishna road at Erramanzil, electric wires snapped at GTS Colony near TS Genco Office, and several trees fell on major roads.

In the old city, heavy rain resulted in disruption of power in Saidabad, Madannapet , Yakutpura areas.

Municipal administration and urban development minister KT Rama Rao directed Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to deploy emergency teams in different areas across the city. He also appealed to people to call 100 or 040-2111-1111 in emergency.