VIJAYAWADA: Half of the 64 divisions in Vijayawada have been severely impacted by flooding, with 32 divisions bearing the brunt of the damage. In response, the State government has initiated large-scale sanitation operations, mobilised 2,143 officers and supervisors along with 6,830 sanitation workers from across the State.
A total of 400 machines and vehicles, including 110 fire engines, are roped in to support these efforts.
Despite incessant rains on Saturday and Sunday, the sanitation personnel have continued operations to clear the debris off the roads and silt-filled drains in the flood-affected divisions of the VMC.
Out of the 149 flood-affected secretariats, 100 per cent sanitation has been completed in 62 secretariats, with 27,443 houses and shops fully cleaned. In total, 4,362 metric tons of waste have been removed so far. Despite floodwaters receding in the majority of the areas, 14 secretariats remain inaccessible due to stagnant water, hampering the cleanup efforts.
Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister Ponguru Narayana informed that sanitation work is on a brisk pace in the areas where the water has completely receded and added that stagnant water in flood-affected areas is being pumped out using motors, particularly from vacant lands.
Furthermore, the State government has deployed 46 advanced drones to spray ML oil and hypochlorite across the affected areas to prevent vector-borne diseases. Approximately 88.62 metric tons of bleaching powder have been used for sanitation operations across the city.
As part of the ongoing cleanup, sanitation personnel have cleared 380.2 km of roads out of a total of 458.1 km, which is 82.99 per cent, in the flood-hit regions. Additionally, 400.4 km of drains have been de-silted out of the total 534.4 km, about 74.9 per cent.
Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) Commissioner HM Dhyanchandra, while inspecting the flood-affected Ajit Singh Nagar on Saturday, said that the civic body, with support from other municipal bodies in the State, is working tirelessly to manage sanitation in the affected areas.
MAUD Min inspects sanitation works
MAUD Minister P Narayana inspected the ongoing sanitation efforts at Old RR Peta on Sunday, accompanied by Director of Municipal Administration Hari Narayan and VMC Commissioner Dhyanchandra. He visited the houses of flood-victims in RR Peta.
On the occasion, the Minister stated that the State government has been continuously supplying food, drinking water, and essential commodities. He noted that in some areas, the floodwater is yet to recede and expressed hope that the water stagnating in RR Peta would drain by Monday.