
RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM : As rains continued to batter the Godavari districts, a high alert has been sounded in Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema, Eluru, Alluri Sitarama Raju, East and West Godavari districts on Sunday.
In Kovvur, a 25-year-old man is feared to have drowned in the River Godavari. According to CI Jagadeeswara Rao, the man, identified as Pasupuleti Vamsi Krishna, was to leave for Australia soon for higher studies.
A native of Avapadu village in Nallajerla mandal, East Godavari district, Vamsi had gone to Rajahmahendravaram for some work on Friday. When he did not return home, his parents filed a complaint with the Kovvur police on Saturday. During the search, his bike and mobile phone were found near Yerinamma bathing ghat in Kovvur.
Police suspect that Vamsi might have been washed away when he went near the river to attend nature’s call. The police launched search operations to trace the body in the river, but could not as it was in spate. Kovvur police have registered a case and a probe is underway.
Inflows to Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage in Dowleswaram, Rajahmahendravaram also continued to surge on Sunday. Surplus water was released from the Polavaram project through its spillway at a rate of 8.5 lakh cusecs. The first warning is likely to be issued by Sunday midnight at the barrage, said Superintendent Engineer G Srinivas Rao. He added the first warning will be issued once the discharge rate of the surplus water reaches 10 lakh cusecs.An alert has been sounded in all 70 island villages in the Godavari delta.
West Godavari, Kakinada, Eluru Collectors on alert to mitigate loss
District Collectorates of West Godavari, Kakinada, Eluru, and Konaseema were put on alert. There are around 118 villages in the Godavari delta and irrigation authorities are monitoring all river bunds spread across the length of 538 km in the Godavari river belt.
The first warning was issued at Bhadrachalam on Sunday after the floodwater level crossed the 43-ft mark. Subsequently, Eluru district Collector K Vetri Selvi directed officials to shift the people from flood-prone villages of Kukunoor and Velerupadu mandals to relief camps.
The Collector and other officials, monitored the shifting of people to relief camps. Revenue and police officials were directed to coordinate with irrigation department officials to take up relief works in other villages as well. As culverts at Gommugudem and Lachigudem villages of Kukunoor mandal submerged in the floodwater, road connectivity to those areas was cut off. As many as 250 families in Gommugudem were shifted to the R&R (Rehabilitation and Resettlement) colony in Daracharma and 47 families of Lachigudem were provided temporary shelters at a hillock with ration and water sufficient for three days. Tarpaulin sheets were provided to 15 families whose houses were damaged in the rains. Additionally, 12 flood-affected villages in Kukunoor and Velerupadu mandals were provided two lakh water packets in the last three days. Currently, water is being supplied with the help of tanks, which make 18 trips a day.
On the Collector’s directions, nine months pregnant M Seetha from Velerupadu mandal, and two nursing mothers from Kukunoor mandal were shifted to Jangareddygudem government hospital. Two medical camps have been set up in Velerupadu and Kukunoor mandals.
Fear has once again gripped people in flood-prone areas of Alluri Sitharama Raju district, Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema, Eluru, East and West Godavari districts, who had witnessed the fury of River Godavari in 2022. As Sabari River swelled, the roads between Chintur and VR Puram, Chintur, and Chatti in ASR district were submerged.
ASR district Collector Dinesh Kumar reviewed the flood situation and announced two-day holiday for schools in Chintur, Kunavaram, VR Puram, and Yetapaka mandals. West Godavari and Eluru district Collectors declared holiday for all schools on Monday. During a teleconference, he directed officials to shift flood victims to relief camps. He asked them to keep fuel and generators on standby. Further, he directed the mandal officers to set up command control rooms in the flood-affected mandals and monitor the situation round the clock by deploying staff in shifts.
According to the Chintur ITDA (Integrated Tribal Development Authority) project officer Chaitanya, five roads have been cut off and the number is likely to increase in the coming days. Seventy per cent students in government hostels have been sent home and the rest to relief camps. ASR district SP Amith Bardar said National and State Disaster Response Force (NDRF and SDRF) personnel are being deployed to flood-hit areas for relief works, while communication teams are on standby.
East Godavari Collector P Prasanthi visited the Goshpada bathing ghat in Kovvur. She directed Municipal Commissioner Daniel Joseph not to allow devotees to bathe in the river as a precautionary measure. She visited the Chityala and Vekatayapalem villages in Gopalapuram mandal and asked the officials to pump out water from the paddy fields. She appointed special officers to monitor the relief activities.