Hyderabad, Sep 2 (IANS): Eleven districts of Telangana were put on alert in view of the forecast of heavy rains over the next 24 hours.

Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari on Monday alerted the districts as the Meteorological department has warned of heavy rains on Tuesday. She held a teleconference with the Collectors and SPs of Adilabad, Jagityal, Kamareddy, Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Medak, Medchal Malkajgiri, Nirmal, Nizamabad, Peddapalli, Sangareddy, and Siddipet districts where there is a warning of heavy rains in the next 24 hours.

Director General of Police Jitender, Special Chief Secretary, Disaster Management, Arvind Kumar, Fire Services Director General Nagi Reddy and Irrigation Special Secretary Prashanth Jeevan Patil participated in the teleconference.

More rains were forecast for the state even as some districts were yet to recover from the damages caused by heavy rains and floods during the last two days. The rains and floods have so far claimed 15 lives and caused extensive damage to crops, roads, railway tracks, bridges and other infrastructure.

The Chief Secretary asked the Collectors of these districts to make an advance plan and take precautions to avoid any loss of property or life. As there have been downpours for the last four to five days, the situation is likely to be severe due to heavy rains and the officials have been ordered to take strong measures in coordination with the police and other departments. In view of the local conditions, the matter of declaring a holiday for the educational institutions should be decided by the District Collectors.

The Nirmal District Collector was asked to shift people from low-lying areas to safe places after the opening of the gates of Swarna and Kadem projects in the district.

A 31-member team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), along with four boats, is being sent to Nirmal. The meeting was informed that at present 20,000 cusecs of water is being released from the Sriram Sagar Project. If this quantity of water increases, precautionary measures should be taken downstream. It was advised to coordinate with the Maharashtra authorities to know the quantity of water coming from the catchment area of Maharashtra from time to time and take appropriate precautions.

The Chief Secretary said that joint teams should be formed with the officials of the line departments concerned at the culverts and rivulets and keep vigilance. Collectors were asked to contact them for any assistance from Hyderabad. Actions should be taken to ensure that the control rooms set up in the District Collectorates work 24/7.

DGP Jitender said that the SPs have been ordered to work in coordination with the District Collectors. He said that cranes should also be kept ready for use in emergency situations.