2 die, 2 injured in roof collapse due to heavy rain – The Hindu

A woman and her son died and two others suffered injuries when boulders came rolling down the hill slope following heavy rain, crashed onto the retaining wall, resulting in the rubble falling into their house, at Ganapathi Nagar under Gajuwaka Police Station limits, here late on on Sunday night.

The concrete retaining wall fell on the asbestos roof of their house and it collapsed. K. Ramalakshmi, who was eight months pregnant, and her two-year-old son Gyaneswar were trapped under the rubble and died on the spot. Ramalakshmis husband Lokanadham and her mother Parvathi sustained injuries, according to the Gajuwaka police.

The bodies were extricated from the rubble by the police with the help of Fire Service personnel, and shifted to the mortuary.

The continual downpour due to a depression in the Bay of Bengal led to rainwater overflowing on the roads at some places and flooding of low-lying areas. The strong winds resulted in the snapping of cable and telephone lines and falling of branches and trees at some places on Monday.

In some areas like Sankara Matam, the movement of traffic was disrupted for some times as trees fell across the roads. They were cleared by people of nearby areas and GVMC staff. Some of the low lying areas in the city were flooded due to the heavy rain but the water receded later.

GVMC Commissioner G. Srijana said the clogged drains were being cleared on a war-footing.

Rainwater overflowed on the streets and entered the cellar of an apartment near the Ayyappa Swami temple at Sheela Nagar. The residents of the area staged a protest demanding a permanent solution to the problem. They alleged that the unauthorised shops and constructed on the drains, were obstructing the flow of water.

Motorists had a tough time driving through the rainwater, which collected on the road below the railway bridge at Chavulamadhum on Monday.

Meanwhile, Visakhapatnam West MLA PGVR Naidu (Ganababu) visited the Ganapathi Nagar on Monday and met the family members of the victims and expressed his condolences. He appealed to the government to provide relief to the bereaved family members. He advised the officials concerned to initiate relief measures in the low-lying areas submerged due to incessant downpour due to the depression in the Bay of Bengal.

He felt that it was unfortunate that the government and officials had not taken preventive measures, though there was prior information about heavy rains, which resulted in the deaths.

TDP corporator nominee Lalam Lavanya, TDP leaders Nakka Lakshman Rao, Rambabu, Sattibabu, Ram Shankar, Prabhakar and Rammohan Naidu were among those who accompanied the MLA.

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2 die, 2 injured in roof collapse due to heavy rain - The Hindu