RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM / VISAKHAPATNAM: The Yeluru project left canal, which supplies water to Visakhapatnam, breached in the early hours of Sunday inundating the SC Colony in Pedasankarlapudi of Prathipadu mandal. Around 300 cusecs of water was released from the canal due to the breach, which is suspected to be caused by some local farmers. The overflowing waters on the highway between Lampakalova and Pedasankarlapudi disrupted the vehicular traffic.
As the breach took place in the early hours, the colony residents woke up with a shock and left the place for their safety. Engineering officials working on the project and other staff said the breach was closed by evening. Prathipadu tahsildar Nagamalleswara Rao and ASI Ashok rushed to the spot and took up restoration works of the canal. DCCB Chairman Paupula Raja also visited the area on Sunday and spoke to the dwellers assuring them that all help would be provided to them.
“The breach in the Yeluru canal has been closed and, presently, there is no problem. However, the situation is being closely monitored so that any further damage can be avoided,” the tahsildar said. The breach of five metres took place at the 8.8 km stone point at 2 am.
Meanwhile, officials suspected that the breach was deliberately caused by some farmers of the nearby villages to fill a local tank for their agriculture needs. “This is becoming an issue as it occurs every year around the same time. We are now planning to deploy around 10 squads to prevent recurrence of such acts,’’ an official concerned said.
Water from Yeluru canal, which is 150 km in length, is sent to Vizag to meet its industrial needs and also for drinking water purposes. Though the breach was plugged by the evening, officials concerned said water supply to the city would be restored only by Monday evening after canal strengthening works were
completed.