An inundated village near Duvva irrigation regulator in West Godavari district on Friday.
| Photo Credit: BY ARRANGEMENT
As many as 45 villages across the Godavari delta are expected to be affected if the outflow at the Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage (SACB) at Dowleswaram rises further due to huge inflow of rainwater into the Godavari and Sabari rivers in Andhra Pradesh.
As of July 19 (Friday), at least four villages were affected in the islands of P. Gannavaram mandal in Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district. The affected islands were Vudumudi Lanka, Arigilavanipeta, Boorgu Lanka, and G. Pedapudilanka.
“As of Friday evening, the inflow and outflow at the SACB is above 2.8 lakh cusecs. The first Godavari flood warning will be issued when the inflow touches 10 lakh cusecs at the SACB. We are prepared to tackle the flood by initiating relief operations at short notice,” said Konaseema District Collector R. Mahesh Kumar.
“The 386-km-long river banks of the Godavari’s branches — Gowthami, Vasista and Vynateya — are being guarded to detect any damage due to floodwater,” Mr. Mahesh Kumar said.
A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was kept ready for undertaking relief operations.
Upstream Polavaram irrigation project, the entire belt inhabited by the Koya and Konda Reddi tribes was put on alert as the inflows in both the Godavari and Sabari rivers were rising.
Authorities of the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Chintoor, deployed boats and tractors throughout the Agency to shift the affected tribals to the relief camps as and when the first Godavari flood warning was issued.
“We have made arrangements to operate 149 relief camps to rehabilitate the affected tribes only after the first Godavari flood warning is issued. A team led by gram panchayat authorities will be deployed for the relief operations and distribution of essential commodities,” ITDA-Chintoor Project Officer Kavuri Chaitanya told The Hindu.
Essential commodities for the month of August had already been procured by nearly 50 PDS stock points for distribution should relief operations be undertaken in the Chintoor Agency.
Tourism and Culture Minister Kandula Durgesh with the family members of the deceased fisherman, in East Godavari district on Friday.
| Photo Credit:
BY ARRANGEMENT
Fisherman dies
Meanwhile, a 56-year-old fisherman, Ghanasala Venkateswara Rao, died after his boat capsized in Yerrakaluva, near Nidadavolu, in East Godavari district. Though he was rescued by locals and admitted in the Nidadavole government hospital, he died while undergoing treatment.
Yerrakaluva is a rivulet that flows down from Telangana and joins the sea at Narsapuram in the Godavari delta.
Tourism and Culture Minister Kandula Durgesh visited the fisherman’s family and promised payment of ex gratia.
The paddy nurseries and paddy fields faced the threat of inundation in nearly 13,000 acres in the Nidadavolu Assembly constituency, said Mr. Durgesh.
