HYDERABAD/KHAMMAM : The officials of Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) on Thursday visited Bhadrachalam and other areas, which are likely to submerge under the backwaters of Polavaram, being constructed by the Andhra Pradesh government. They examined several technical aspects and the possibility of submergence of some areas.
Several leaders of the Congress and BRS submitted memoranda to the visiting team with a request to safeguard the areas in Telangana from the Polavaram project.
BRS leader T Harish Rao submitted a letter to the PPA, highlighting the growing threat posed by Polavaram backwaters to Telangana’s flood-prone regions and demanding urgent intervention to protect the affected families. The letter was handed over to PPA officials by local BRS leaders.
Harish pointed out that the Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of the Polavaram project is 45.72 metres, which is exactly the same as the first flood warning level at Bhadrachalam. He warned that once the project becomes fully operational, Bhadrachalam could face a constant flood threat.
He explained that while the riverbed level of the Godavari at Bhadrachalam is around 26 metres, the backwater effect from Polavaram would result in water levels remaining between 13.15 metres and 17.72 metres above the riverbed for prolonged periods.
Consequences could be far worse in future: Harish
Referring to the devastating floods of 2022, Harish Rao noted that after the completion of the Polavaram coffer dam, backwater effects contributed significantly to flooding in Bhadrachalam, Burgampahad and Sarapaka. Nearly 40 per cent of Bhadrachalam town was submerged, causing severe hardship to more than one lakh people.
He cautioned that if such extensive damage occurred during floods of around 22 lakh cusecs, the consequences could be far worse in the future when flood flows of 36 lakh to 50 lakh cusecs, as envisaged in the project’s design, pass through the Godavari.
Harish stressed that the threat is not limited to villages alone. Major industrial establishments, including ITC Paperboards, the Heavy Water Plant and the Dummugudem Hydel Project, are also vulnerable to backwater flooding. These industries provide livelihoods to nearly 5,000 families. He demanded immediate compensation and comprehensive rehabilitation for nearly 2,000 families that have been suffering repeated losses due to recurring floods.
He demanded the construction of new embankments extending about five km along Bhadrachalam town and protective flood walls for vulnerable villages such as Burgampahad and Sarapaka.
Pinapaka MLA Payam Venkateswarlu and Bhadrachalam MLA Tallam Venkat Rao too urged the PPA to undertake a comprehensive study on the potential inundation in Telangana due to the backwater effect of Polavaram project.
Venkateswarlu submitted a memorandum at the ITC guesthouse in Sarapaka, Burgampadu mandal. He called for a detailed assessment of the affected areas in Telangana using modern technology and requested that the actual extent of submergence be determined through scientific methods.