TIRUPATI:
Cyclone Vardah may have caused damaged to property but it has brought in copious amounts of rainfall to several parts of the parched
Rayalaseema
. All the major reservoirs in the temple towns of Tirupati and Tirumala also in various parts of Chittoor district are full to the brim. Chittoor district received almost 25 per cent of the annual rainfall on a single day thanks to Vardah.
The Seshachalam forest, which is home to a number of rare and ende mic plants and animals, also came to life following heavy rainfall in the last two days. Most of the waterholes in the forest are also full.The failure of the southwest monsoon and the nearfailure of the northeast monsoon has hit the wild flora and fauna the most.There have been several instances of wild animals straying out of the forests in search of food and water.The pedestrian pathways have witnessed movement of leopards.
Places like Pichatoor received as high as 14.7 cm while
Tirupati urban
received 10.1cm of rainfall. Tirupati rural received 8.4 cm of rainfall. During this period last year, the temple town was in acute shortage of drinking water. In fact, the TTD had proposed rationing of water, but heavy downpour last year solved the water crisis. This year too, the cyclonic rains came to the rescue of pilgrims.