No one in Vijayawada had ever witnessed a flood like the one that submerged almost half the city last week. Yes, there have been a few floods in the decades past, but none where so many people were affected so suddenly. Not just the city, but several surrounding areas and Guntur district were deluged as well.
At least 33 people have died and the toll is likely to go up. Even as Vijayawada struggles to get back on its feet, the debate around the cause and the state government’s efforts is intensifying.
Simultaneous heavy inflows into the river Krishna on one side and enormous pressure on the rivulet Budameru on another side made things impossible to manage.
In the natural course, water from Budameru collects in the fresh-water Kolleru lake after several turns; when the flow increases, it’s diverted to Krishna. What seems to have happened last Saturday was that water that could not be diverted to Krishna was released towards Kolleru via Vijayawada. As about 45,000 cusecs flowed downstream, it breached bunds at several places, inundating Vijayawada and affecting close to 7 lakh people. Could it have been avoided? At least, could the people have been warned? It can be ascertained only after an expert inquiry. The government was clearly caught unawares.
One must appreciate Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for visiting some flooded areas soon after, as it instilled confidence among the people who had been left without drinking water, power and food.
Nonetheless, the official machinery failed in the first couple of days to coordinate and reach out to the people in low-lying areas. The situation has been stabilised and army engineers deployed to plug the breaches. Many people are still left with just their clothes and damaged houses; there has been substantial crop damage too. The cash-strapped state needs immediate central assistance to tackle the enormous challenge.
At such a moment, it is reprehensible of YSR Congress chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy to accuse Naidu of deliberately diverting the flood to save his house. This is not the time for politics. Severe action must be taken to remove encroachments near Budameru and Krishna. The long-pending expansion of the diversion canal must be completed at the earliest. And an inquiry must be conducted to dissect the calamity so that we are better prepared for the future.