As many as 25,000 people residing in several colonies along the banks of Krishna river in Vijayawada city were forced to flee their homes, leaving behind what little possesions they had, when the river swollen with rain water threatened to enter their homes.
They were living in Ramalingeswaranagar, Yenamalakuduru, Tarakaramanagar, Dwarakanagar, Gitanagar, and Kalanagar on the banks of Krishna river and flood water river started to submerge these areas due to the lifting of 70 gates of the Prakasam barrage to release 4.60 lakh cusecs of floodwater into the sea. The locals are alleging negligence on part of the people’s representatives and Vijayawada municipal corporation officials as the cause of the frequent flooding into their colonies.
B Venkaiah and others residing at Ayyappa street said that Krishna flood water started marooning streets on Friday and the inflow increased by that night as the water started gushing into their houses. They said that they immediately shifted cooking utensils and stoves on to the Karnakatta road and slept there in fear. They lamented that the inflow further increased inundating their houses on Saturday due to which women and children went to relief camps. They added that as they did not take valuables from their houses, men are sleeping on the Karakatta road protecting their houses from thieves.
Y Venkateswara Rao and others of the Alla Chella Rao street rued that local MPs and MLAs had promised about the construction of a flood wall to restrain flood water in vain as five years have passed since the Parliamentary and Assembly elections”. They alleged that the VMC is collecting taxes from residents but never tried to resolve their flood water difficulties which forces them to leave their houses once every year.
“We shifted older persons on the cots to the relief camps but no official came to help with a transportation facility,” lamented A Bhagya Rao of Tarakaramanagar. He recalled that they face flood menace every year and said they are ready to leave the river bank if the government provides houses in other areas. He admitted that living on the river bank is living with danger, but penury conditions have forced them to “live in peril”.
G Lakshmi of Neelaveni Road said that their family did not sleep for the past three days due to fear of floodwater. She said that they were forced to leave their house with small children on Saturday night instantly without food due to a rise of floodwater. Their valuables, including children’s note/textbooks were soaking in the flood waters. D Venkateswaramma recalled that their house is on the sixth lane from Karakatta and floodwater swiftly started entering their house which forced them to leave with immediately without food. She lamented that communicable diseases would spread due to unhygienic conditions in the relief camps as the majority people did not take a bath since the past three days.
A local political leader, K Nageswara Rao said that unavailability of land is forcing the poor public to reside on the banks of the Krishna river. He said that the Congress, Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Communists and other parties never tried to raise awareness about the consequences of residing on the river bank facing floods, and the government providing compensation/help further promotes the poor public to reside in the river ground”.
N Kondal Rao and others said that the then chief minister, YS Rajasekhar Reddy in the year 2009 visited Ramalingeswaranagar and other frequently inundated areas and promised a flood wall construction in vain. They added that VMC should construct the flood wall to save the public from frequent flood menace.
The levees on the Krishna river to prevent river overflowing was first constructed in the year 1892 and later levees were improved time-to-time as per requirement. The present levees which protect Krishnalanka, Ramalingeswaranagar, Yenamalakuduru were constructed in the year 1967-68.
Vijayawada East MLA, Y Ravi said that proposals were sent to the government for the construction of a flood wall worth `104.62 crore and opined that this flood wall would protect Ramlingeswaranagar and other areas from flood.
