Flood: People in Over 200 Villages of Twin Godavari Districts Still Stranded

Flood: People in Over 200 Villages of Twin Godavari Districts Still Stranded

RAJAHMUNDRY / ELURU: Even as the flood water receded on Wednesday, the nightmare did not end for people who have been stranded in the twin Godavari districts over the last 24 hours. Two people are learnt to have drowned in Godavari river in separate incidents in the districts.

One Ch Krishna Murthi (53) was washed away in the flood waters when he was walking on the river bund at K Enugupalli village in P Gannavaram mandal of East Godavari district on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday, another body was found in P Gannavaram and is yet to be identified.

The Gautami graveyard at Aynavilli Lanka was submerged, forcing the people to cremate the deceased on the higher grounds at the nearby bridge adjacent to the burial ground. Three family members were forced to wait next to the funeral pyre and take away the skeletal remains for conducting further rituals.

Many Lanka villages are still marooned and the flood victims are facing severe problems. As many as 145 villages in 10 mandals of East Godavari were affected and transportation to eight villages came to a standstill due to floods for the past two days. Villagers are panicking even though the floodwater is receding slowly.

Country boats are being used to shift the flood victims, but not many are daring to leave their houses, which they claim are safer than the boats. In some areas, the flood water got stagnated to 4-5 feet and people are forced to stand on benches and cots in their houses.

In some areas, snakes created panic among the stranded people. They also had to spend the whole night in darkness due to lack of power supply. As the medical teams are unable to reach many flood-affected areas, villagers fear spread of diseases. ‘’It has become very common for the officials to visit Lanka villages only after the water recedes. No one cares for our well-being and there is no proper food supply to us,” averred Lakshmamma, a housewife from Chintapallilanka in Mummidivaram mandal of East Godavari.

Not just power supply, the dwellers of Lanka villages do not even have access to cooked food and safe drinking water. The officials have launched large scale rescue operations and already shifted over 1,000 people to safe areas. Some people in the Lanka villages alleged that they do not even have access to food, milk, drinking water and power, as the officials are yet to reach them.

Subbayya of Baduguvanilanka in Alamur mandal said: “We spent sleepless night as the floodwater surged into the village. Children suffered a lot and there is no way to move out of the village because of heavy floodwater.”

In West Godavari, 3,321 families in over 100 villages have been affected due to the floods. The officials said about 30 boats have been deployed to carry out relief and rescue operations in the district. Horticultural crops in 5,000 acres have been inundated and the final estimations on the extent of damage could be known only after the water recedes.

Women and child welfare minister Peethala Sujatha said that efforts were being made to rescue as many victims as possible. The proposals for construction of protection walls to safeguard the villages, particularly Lanka villages, to protect them from Godavari river floods will be pursued seriously, she added. The minister has also directed the officials to present the proposals before the chief minister at the earliest.

AP Announce Rs 5 Cr Aid to J&K

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday announced a financial assistance of Rs 5 crore to the  flood-hit Jammu & Kashmir. Lauding the mammoth multi-agency rescue efforts underway in Jammu and Kashmir to rescue lakhs of people trapped in flood-ravaged areas, the chief Minister said that the state has sent 300 metric tonnes of ready-to-eat packaged food. Naidu said 145 tonnes of food packets have already been air-lifted by the Air Force personnel for distribution to the flood victims. An estimated four lakh people are believed to be trapped in floods.

Flood Havoc

143 villages in 10 mandals of EG and 100 villages in WG affected

Over 75 country and mechanised boats in EG and 30 in WG used to shift people

Paddy and horticultural crops in 25,000 acres submerged in EG; horticultural crops in 5,000 acres damaged in WG

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