Flood threat to 45 villages as Godavari and Sabari rivers in spate

Flood threat to 45 villages as Godavari and Sabari rivers in spate. First Godavari flood warning to be issued when the inflow touches 10 lakh cusecs at Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage. National Disaster Response Force kept ready for undertaking relief operations. ITDA-Chintoor gears up to operate 149 relief camps.

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.