TIRUPATI: The Chittoor district administration on Sunday evening issued public warnings as some minor openings were developed on the bund in the 500-year old massive water tank Rayalacheruvu in Ramachandrapuram mandal.
After the recent downpour, the tank was storing water to its full capacity and started developing minor breaches, officials said. As many as 100 villages in Ramchandrapuram, Chandragiri and Tirupati mandals are at the risk of inundation.
As such, police and revenue officials started relocating people from the low-lying villages to a relief camp set up at a private engineering college in C Ramapuram. NDRF and SDRF cops were pressed into service to avoid any loss of life.
Tirupati Urban SP Ch Venkata Appala Naidu said people from 18 villages had already been evacuated and two teams of NDRF and SDRF personnel were deployed. “More teams will be deployed and, if required, help of the Air Force will be sought.”
Special officer Pradyumna, district collector M Hari Narayanan and the Urban SP said the situation is being monitored minute by minute. Hari Narayanan told reporters that the tank was filled to the brim after record rainfall of nearly 15 cm battering the region in a day.
“For the last two days, the exercise to drain out excess water from the bund is underway. However, due to heavy inflows from the upper catchment areas the bund is overflowing. This has led to a breach in a portion from where water is leaking,” the collector said, and added sandbags were being used to strengthen the embankment.
People of Ramachandra Puram, Gangireddy Palle, Nadavaluru, Prasanna Venkateswara Puram, Kammapalle, Gollapalle, Kamma Kandriga, Metturu, Nennuru, Venkatarama Puram and other low-lying villages had been relocated in view of the breach. Pradyumna said the tank was storing water to its full capacity 0.9 TMC.