VIJAYAWADA: Following the incident wherein a flood gate broke and was washed away in Pulichintala project while releasing excess water downstream on Thursday night, flood level at Prakasam Barrage increased on Friday morning. According to data obtained from Water Resources department dashboard, the first flood warning was sounded on Friday morning when the outflow discharge was recorded at 3.97 lakh cusecs.
However, the irrigation officials sounded a second flood warning as the discharge to downstream Prakasam Barrage increased to 5.62 lakh cusecs. At 4 pm in the evening, water at the barrage stood at 57.05 feet with a gross capacity of 3.07 TMC, while the inflow was 4.56 lakh cusecs and outflow was 4.44 lakh cusecs.
Following the heavy outflow of more than 5 lakh cusecs from the barrage, several roads in Krishna Lanka, Ranigari Thota, Yanamalakuduru and other downstream colonies were inundated and the officials sent residents of these colonies to various temporary rehabilitation centres arranged in the city.Roads in Taraka Rama Nagar and Bhupesh Gupta Nagar in Krishna Lanka were the worst hit and the people residing in these colonies were shifted to Indira Gandhi Municipal Corporation (IGMC) stadium and SMR High School in Krishna Lanka.
Anticipating the situation, Krishna Collector J Nivas alerted the people residing in the villages along the Krishna banks of sudden increase in flow of water. Meanwhile, VMC commissioner V Prasanna Venkatesh inspected the rehabilitation centres and took stock of the situation. He instructed officials to ensure the public get food and keep the premises clean as there is a chance of seasonal disease outbreak.
The district administration also took the support of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams and Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) to evacuate the villagers in identified problematic villages and other rehabilitation centres.