GUNTUR: Will Kondaveedu Vaagu, often described as the ‘sorrow of the region,’ which includes parts of the upcoming capital city Amaravati, pose problems this year in view of the incessant rains?
Every monsoon, the villages along the stream are usually in the grip of fear of inundation. However, with the region becoming the state capital, irrigation department had taken up the modernisation works of on war-footing basis and is confident of completing them at the earliest. Officials feel that widening of the stream and lack of water in the projects in the upstream area might help this year.
Rains in Kondaveedu Hills, located some 30 km from Krishna river, feed the stream, which meanders through different villages in Tadikonda, Thullur and Mangalagiri mandals and is joined by three more streams - Kotela Vaagu, Pala Vaagu and Erra Vaagu, before emptying into the Krishna River at Prakasam Barrage in Undavalli village.
Praying to Kondaveeti Vaagu not to get angry and cross its bunds is common among the farmers of the region. When the stream swells, thousands of acres are flooded.
Encroachments of the stream bund have only worsened the situation.
However, once the area got earmarked for the capital city, the first thing the government did was to direct the irrigation department officials to initiate measures for removal of encroachments and widen the stream by 30 meters, so the water flows easily into Krishna river without flooding its banks.