VIJAYAWADA: Flood fury of Krishna River continues unabated, forcing the district administration to caution the public residing downstream of Prakasam Barrage to shift their valuables and livestock to safer locations.
According to irrigation department officials, as on 7 pm inflow at Prakasam Barrage was at 2.57 lakh cusecs while the outflow from the barrage was 2.57 lakh cusecs. At 7 pm flood discharge from Pulichintala project was 3.13 lakh cusecs, while inflow to the project was 3.13 lakh cusecs.
“We have received communication from the municipal corporation and revenue department officials on Monday afternoon that around 4 lakh cusecs water is expected to reach the barrage by night. They have asked us to preserve our valuables and livestock,” said M Narasimha Rao, a resident of Bhupesh Gupta Nagar.
However, the residents pointed out that it has become a routine affair for them to face such problems during the monsoon season. They said that steps should be taken by the government to complete the ongoing flood protection retaining wall works on the river banks.
As a precautionary measure, the district administration and municipal corporation officials have instructed the people residing at Ranigari Thota, Geeta Nagar, Balaji Nagar, Yanamalakuduru and Ramalingeswara Nagar, to pack their valuables and relocate to safer locations depending on the flood situation.
Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) has assigned 24 member NDRF teams to Vijayawada so that they can avert any occurrence of untoward incidents in the low-lying areas. Besides that revenue, fire and disaster response forces have also been kept on standby in areas along the Krishna river banks as the flood is likely to affect low-lying areas.