Heavy rains cripple Hyderabad, IT firms asked for work from home & Army help sought

Hyderabad: The Telangana government on Friday asked IT companies to allow their employees in the city to work from home so as to avoid venturing out in view of incessant rains here for past two days, even as help has been sought from the Army for rescue operation in some areas. Following the heavy downpour which crippled normal life here, the state government has declared a holiday for educational institutions in Hyderabad on Friday and Saturday. The government has sought help of the Army for rescue operation in some areas of the city, for which the Defence wing has agreed, a senior official of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation said on Friday.                                                                                             Image courtesy: ANI "We sought their help and they also came forward. They have been given maps and other information of areas like Gachibowli, Nizampet, Alwal and Hakimpet. They are willing to swing into action whenever we call them, the GHMC official told PTI. Telangana's Information Technology Secretary Jayesh Ranjan said they have sent an advisory to IT companies' association to either declare a holiday or allow their employees to work from home following forecast of heavy rains today and tomorrow. "We have asked the association to send an advisory to all the IT companies located in the city. Accordingly, they issued advisory to all the IT firms. This is in the interest of safety of the employees. The response from companies is good," Ranjan said. Heavy rains battered the city which is a major center for the technology industry, and some other parts of Telangana for the past couple of days, throwing life out of gear in some places. Some localities in low lying areas of Miyapur and Nizampet continue to be inundated since the last two days. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao yesterday reviewed the situation and directed officials to take all precautionary measures in view of the heavy rain forecast. State IT Minister KT Rama Rao along with senior officials toured the city last night and reviewed the situation. He instructed officials to evacuate people from low-lying areas. Normal life in some low-lying areas of the city has been disrupted due to the water-logging, and traffic has been hit badly due to the downpour. Hyderabad traffic police has advised commuters to avoid undertaking unnecessary journeys.