Four dead in Hyderabad protest

The government had asked for the protest to be postponed

Four people have died in a protest in the Andhra Pradesh capital, Hyderabad, as the authorities struggle to deal with a continuing flood crisis in the state.

The protest by opposition activists was over a sharp rise in power prices.

Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had urged the opposition not to go ahead with the protest because of the floods, which have claimed 150 lives in the state in the past six days.

The protest turned violent when those taking part tried to storm the state assembly.

Heavy rains have washed away home, villages and roads

Police opened fire; among the casualties was a policeman said to have been hit by a stray bullet.

Stranded by floods

Nearly half a million people have been displaced after monsoon rains washed away homes, roads and villages.

Officials feared that the death toll could rise as the swollen Godavari River in the north threatened to burst its banks.

The authorities are now trying to reach thousands of people stranded by the floodwaters.

A spokesman for the rescue operation, Brigadier V M Rajgopalan, said the army was on full alert and more boats and helicopters would be summoned from neighbouring Karnataka state should the authorities need them.

Burst dam

Officials say heavy rain over the weekend caused the waters of the Godavari and its tributaries to rise suddenly.

State officials have been trying to feed nearly 100,000 people crammed into government camps.

Workers try to build embankments on a swollen river

On Sunday, thousands of workers were rushed to a breach in the Roxsagar reservoir as water from the burst dam gushed towards the state capital, Hyderabad.

Nearly 40,000 people were evacuated from the area as the floodwaters inundated their homes.

Efforts to plug the 4.5m (15-foot) crack were later abandoned and the army was forced to retreat from the path of the swirling water.

Complaints

The state has received 50% more rain than normal during the annual monsoon period and weathermen have forecast further heavy rain over the next 48 hours.

Hyderabad has been among the areas worst hit, with 35,000 of its four million population affected and thousands of homes destroyed.

Clearing-up operations have continued during the last few days when the monsoon rains have largely held off.

Andhra Pradesh facts

Population 78m

Coastline nearly 1,000 km long

Some 70% dependent on agriculture

Hyderabad an emerging IT centre

Complaints about the way the authorities have dealt with the crisis remain common.

An assessment team from the central government has been in Hyderabad to look at the extent of the damage.

Earlier in August, more than 100 people died and millions were made homeless when monsoon floods hit north-eastern India.

The International Red Cross has warned that millions of people are drinking flood water which is contaminated and has appealed for more tube wells, bleaching powder and water purification tablets.