VIJAYAWADA: The Budameru rivulet, known as the ‘Sorrow of Vijayawada,’ once again lived up to its dubious name after 20 years. On Saturday night, a breach in the Budameru Diversion Channel (BDC) caused the rivulet to overflow, with water levels rising by the minute. By early Sunday, several localities near the Budameru rivulet were inundated with floodwaters, disrupting normal life.
Approximately 2,76,000 people, mostly residents of slums in these areas, were affected. The Budameru was flowing at the level of the bridge, which normally would see the water some 8 to 10 feet below.
The rivulet originates in the hills surrounding Mylavaram in the NTR district and empties into Kolleru lake in the Eluru district. It has been flooding the Vijayawada region every rainy season. To control the floods, the river was dammed at Velagaleru village, and a diversion channel, the BDC, was constructed from Velagaleru to join the Krishna River upstream of the Prakasam Barrage.
Venkata Ramana, a resident of Vijayawada, said that the Budameru had flooded in 2004 and now threatens homes along its banks. He added that the railway bridge over the Budameru has been washed away twice in the past, and the current flood level is similarly alarming.
It is the inflows from higher regions that flood the low-lying areas in the city. The Budameru’s passage to Kolleru and the encroachment of its banks is one of the main reasons for the flooding.
“If you ask me, this is the main reason. Encroachments have happened with political backing over the years, and now the situation is unmanageable. To address this, strong will is needed. An organisation like Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) is urgently needed to tackle the issue of encroachments,” said Kolanukonda Shivaji, an All India Congress Committee (AICC) member. For years, after the construction of the BDC, emphasis was on its modernisation and strengthening of the flood-retaining walls of Budameru. However, these assurances have been limited to speeches.