KHAMMAM: The officials monitoring the Godavari flood situation continued the third flood warning in the temple town of Bhadrachalam on Saturday.
The floodwater level at 10 PM was 56 ft but officials fear it could increase further as the inflows into the river continued to swell in its upper reaches.
Road transportation has been cut off to nine mandals from Bhadrachalam and the district headquarters of Kothagudem. Floodwater overflowed the national highway between Bhadrachalam and Chhattisgarh at several places.
Hundreds of acres of cotton and paddy fields have been submerged under a sheet of water in Dummugudem, Cherla, Aswapuram, Burgampadu, and Manugur mandals in the district.
District Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar reviewed the flood situation with officials in Bhadrachalam.
District Collector Priyanka Ala said the third warning was continuing. The water is flowing down the river at the rate of 15,59,459 cusecs of water. Ajay Kumar made an aerial survey by helicopter.
Meanwhile, some flood victims staged a protest resenting the delay in providing food to them at the relief centres. They came onto the roads and organised a demonstration in front of flood shelters in Bhadrachalam.
They were among 400 flood victims of Kotha Colony, AMC Colony, and Ashoknagar Colony who were shifted to Nannapaneni high school and 492 flood victims of Subhash Nagar colony who were provided accommodation at the Degree and Junior Colleges.
CPM party leader Maccha Venkateswarlu said elders and children were suffering due to a lack of food.