Hyderabad, Aug 29 : Flood-hit parts of Kamareddy and Medak districts of Telangana remained submerged on Friday as authorities intensified relief operations while heavy rain lashed parts of north Telangana.

The flood water from the Pocharam project washed away part of the Medak-Yellareddy highway, bringing the vehicular traffic to a halt.

An operation by the Army was on to rescue eight people trapped in floods after a portion of the bridge on the Medak-Yellareddy highway was washed away.

A team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescued eight persons caught in floods in the Manjira River in Nizamabad district.

There was a huge traffic jam on National Highway 44 (Hyderabad-Nagpur highway) in Kamareddy district as heavy rains and floods had damaged the road at a few points. There was a 15-km-long jam from Sadashivnagar mandal to Bhiknoor.

The vehicles were moving at a snail's pace. District Superintendent of Police Rajesh Chandra was monitoring the situation.

For the second day, authorities have declared a holiday for educational institutions in Medak and Kamareddy districts.

Heavy rain led to massive floods in the Godavari River. Gates of various projects were opened to release the water downstream.

The Nizamsagar project was receiving 1.63 lakh cusecs of inflows. Authorities have lifted 23 gates to release 1.67 lakh cusecs. The water level in Nizamsagar was 1,402.92 feet on Friday morning against its full reservoir level of 1,405 feet. The water storage was 14.88 TMC against its full capacity of 17.80 TMC.

Sriram Sagar was also receiving massive inflows of 4.30 lakh cusecs. Irrigation Department officials have lifted 39 gates to release 5.04 lakh cusecs downstream. The water level in the project was 1,086.60 feet against its full reservoir level of 1,091 feet. The water storage was 65.13 TMC against its full capacity of 80.5 TMC.

The Sirpad Yellampalli project was receiving inflows of 6.76 lakh cusecs. The officials were releasing 6.52 lakh cusecs downstream.

Meanwhile, the water level in Godavari at Ramannagudem in Eturanagaram mandal of Mulugu district crossed the first danger mark on Thursday. The water level has reached 14.83 meters. As the forecast indicates a further rise, the District Collector has requested that all flood duty officers be positioned for relief and rescue operations.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast more rain on Friday and Saturday. Extremely heavy rain is likely in Kamareddy and Nizamabad districts. Red alert has been issued in these districts.

The IMD has issued an orange alert to Medak, united Adilabad and Karimnagar districts.

/IANS