Ferocious Godavari batters life in AP, flood on rise

Amaravati: Life remained paralysed as hundreds of villages, mainly the lankas (island villages), along the course of Godavari are left reeling under the worst flood as the swollen river has been discharging 21.78 lakh cusecs of water as on Friday night at Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage at Dowaleswaram near Rajamahendravaram in Andhra Pradesh.

The State Disaster Management Authority said the flood flow could increase to 25 lakh cusecs by Saturday.

It said in a release that 62,337 people from hundreds of flood-hit villages in four districts of the state were shifted to 220 relief camps as their villages remained inundated.

Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy undertook an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas on Friday afternoon and asked the official machinery to remain on high alert.

“The next 24 hours are very critical, so please be on your toes. Together we have to handle this situation and find solutions,” the Chief Minister told the authorities.

The state government has appointed five senior IAS officers as Special Officers to coordinate the flood relief and rehabilitation measures in the affected districts.

SDMA Managing Director B R Ambedkar said nine NDRF and 10 SDRF teams have been deployed in Alluri Sitarama Raju, Konaseema, West Godavari and Eluru districts for rescue and relief operations.

In Konaseema districts, authorities faced a tough time as people in the lanka villages refused to be evacuated to safety even as the habitations remained inundated.

“We are forced to use force in many a case to evacuate the flood-hit people. Saving lives is our top priority,” a top district official said.

The Chief Minister, upon his return from the aerial survey, reviewed the situation with Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma, Director General of Police K V Rajendranath Reddy and other top officials and directed them to ensure that there was no loss of lives due to the flood fury.

The massive flood has affected at least 628 villages spread over 44 mandals in six districts along the Godavari course.

At Polavaram project site, height of upper cofferdam is being raised by one metre and width by two metres on a war-footing as over 20 lakh cusecs of flood water touched the spillway.

With indications that the flood discharge could touch 28 lakh cusecs by Saturday, the upper cofferdam is being strengthened to prevent any major damage to the structure, a critical component of the dam.

The CM said the impact of the massive flood was high on the lanka villages and also those abutting the riverbanks. He asked the officials to map the affected villages and render humanitarian assistance to the affected people.

“Focus your attention on evacuation of people to safer places,” he told the district Collectors and Superintendents of Police.

Meanwhile, river Krishna has also been receiving massive inflows due to copious rains in the upper catchment areas.

The Srisailam reservoir in AP received an inflow of 2.78 lakh cusecs of water on Friday evening and 31,784 cusecs of it was being discharged downstream.

Current storage in Srisailam touched 65.05 tmc ft against the full reservoir level of 215.81 tmc ft.

Downstream, the flood flow in Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada has gradually reduced from over 24,000 to 16,819 cusecs by Friday evening.