Six die as rain, gale lash combined Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh

Vijayawada: At least six people died in a series of rain-related incidents after heat-induced storms lashed parts of the combined Krishna district on Thursday night.In Vijayawada, roads were inundated as heavy rain, coupled with gale, lashed several areas, uprooting trees, electric poles, and hoardings, and briefly disrupting power supply in the city.In one incident, a 42-year-old home guard was electrocuted after he stepped on a high-tension wire that had snapped and fallen on the road near Kothapeta police station. The victim, Jani, was returning home with his family in his auto-rickshaw after having food at Panja Centre. He stopped by the roadside after his vehicle broke down.In another incident, a five-year-old girl lost her life after accidentally coming in contact with an exposed power meter box at Block 224 in YSR Jakkampudi Colony. Challa Madhavi (5) was the daughter of Challa Yasubabu and Naga Lakshmi, residents of Block 240 in the colony.In a separate incident, a 19-year-old, Pandali Surya Prakash, was electrocuted after coming in contact with a generator wire at a biryani stall at Eat Street near the Indira Gandhi Municipal Corporation (IGMC) stadium in the city.In Krishna district, two youths lost their lives after a palm tree fell on their motorcycle at Kummari Palem village under the Koduru police station limits. The victims, Garikapati Manohar (29) and Chuturi Sivaramakrishna, had gone to the village outskirts to relieve themselves in the fields and were returning home when the tree fell on their bike due to strong wind. One of them died on the spot, while the other succumbed to injuries while being shifted to a nearby hospital.Meanwhile, an Intermediate student lost her life after coming in contact with an LT wire that had snapped after trees fell on power lines at Lankapalli village in Ghantasala mandal.APCPDCL Vijayawada circle superintending engineer U Hanumaiah blamed VMC officials for “failing” to ensure proper covering of the electricity meter boxes in the colony. Referring to the home guard’s death, the official said the victim had stepped on the HT wire, mistaking it for a non-electrical cable.