Darshita Jain, Pune
A combined team of members of the NDRF, SDRF, and district police rescued 80 tourists stranded by the rising water at the Muthyaladhara waterfall in the Telangana district of Mulugu at about 3:30 am on Thursday. Yesterday afternoon, they had gone to watch the stream.
The tallest waterfall in the state, Muthyaladhara, is close to Veerabadaravaram, a village in Venkatapuram mandal. The monsoon season offers a beautiful picture because of the increased water flow. In the previous 24 hours, Mulugu, especially Venkatapuram mandal, got a record-breaking 64.9 cm of rainfall.
According to district collector Ila Tripathi, the tourists—all young men between 18 and 25—took an internal route because all tourist attractions were closed due to the severe rain.
Trekkers must go around 10 kilometers through the forest to get to the waterfall. However, because of the constant downpours, the water level in the stream they had to cross to get to the waterfall began to rise, shutting them off. As the evening approached, they were frightened and dialled 100. District officials said that the distress call occurred at 8:30 p.m.
Mulugu Gaush Alam, Superintendent of Police, addressed the stranded and asked them to move to higher ground and preserve their mobile batteries rather than crossing the creek.
At 3:30 a.m., tourists from adjacent regions were eventually saved. “Rescue operations have concluded. A total of 80 visitors were saved. We checked with each group, and no one is currently left behind. They were given water, cookies, lemon rice, and medical attention. “One boy received a minor scorpion bite and was treated,” stated SP Mulugu.
Following the stressful day, some of the visitors complained of leg aches. The majority of them had likewise returned home by daybreak. Mulugu, like most districts in Telangana, has suffered severe rainfall, and water was spilling over a bridge on National Highway 163 in Mulugu.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a rain warning for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh until Thursday. The state has recorded the highest-ever rainfall in a single day, with Laxmidevapeta in Mulugu district’s Venkatapur mandal (revenue block) receiving 649.8 mm by 8 a.m. on Thursday. Telangana has issued a red alert for heavy rain today in several districts. Today is a holiday designated by the state government for all educational institutions.
Several additional areas of northern Telangana, including the former merged districts of Warangal, Karimnagar, Adilabad, and Khammam, have seen unusually severe rainfall during the previous two days. Social media is flooded with videos of rivers and sources of water overflowing, highways being shut off, and residential areas being submerged.