Andhra minister prays to Krishna river to calm down
October 6th, 2009 - 5:46 pm ICT by IANSHyderabad, Oct 6 (IANS) As the unprecedented floods caused by a swollen Krishna river led to widespread destruction in Andhra Pradesh, a state minister Tuesday offered prayers to calm the river.
P. Ramachandra Reddy, state minister for forests, environment, science and technology, offered special prayers on the banks of the river in Vijayawada city, which is facing threat of inundation along with hundreds of villages in Krishna and Guntur districts.
Amid the chanting of Vedic hymns by a group of priests, the minister, with several other people, prayed to ‘Krishnamma’ or mother Krishna, as the Hindus call the river, to quieten and prevent any further damage.
Ramachandra Reddy, who is also the minister in charge of Krishna district, offered flowers to the river and stood in prayer with folded hands.
“I have prayed to Krishnamma to calm down and stop further damage,” the minister told reporters.
He later offered special prayers at the Kankadurga temple on the banks of the river. Several residents of Vijayawada and surrounding villages also offered prayers.
The week-long floods caused by the river has already claimed 52 lives and rendered half a million people homeless in five districts. Chief Minister K. Rosaiah, quoting experts, has said that the massive floods were a rare phenomenon and occur once in 1,000 years.
- No respite from Andhra floods, Karnataka seeks rehab help (Roundup) - Oct 06, 2009
- Kurnool town still under water, Vijayawada threatened (Lead) - Oct 03, 2009
- Dozens of villages in coastal Andhra still submerged - Oct 07, 2009
- Breaches in Krishna embankments flood more villages(Lead) - Oct 06, 2009
- Flood situation eases in Andhra Pradesh, 52 dead (Lead) - Oct 06, 2009
- Andhra rains cause havoc, toll rises to 25 - Nov 03, 2010
- PM makes aerial survey of flood-hit Andhra areas - Oct 09, 2009
- PM makes aerial survey of flood-hit Kurnool, Mahabubnagar - Oct 10, 2009
- Karnataka, Andhra seek Rs.16,000 crore as floods wreak havoc (Roundup) - Oct 05, 2009
- Swollen Krishna threatens Vijayawada, many villages with floods (Second Lead) - Oct 05, 2009
- Respite in rain-hit Karnataka and Andhra, toll 190 (Roundup) - Oct 03, 2009
- Andhra flood situation grim, respite in Karnataka (Afternoon Lead) - Oct 03, 2009
- Indundation threat over Vijayawada, many Andhra villages - Oct 05, 2009
- Andhra flood situation stays grim - Oct 03, 2009
- Three Andhra towns, 200 villages still under flood waters - Oct 04, 2009
Tags: andhra pradesh, banks of the river, chief minister, environment science, flowers, folded hands, forests, half a million, hindus, inundation, krishna district, massive floods, prayer, prayers, priests, ramachandra, rare phenomenon, science and technology, state minister, vedic hymns
