Godavari hovers just below the danger mark at Bhadrachalam; flood threat persists

High alert despite withdrawal of third flood warning

The water level in the Godavari showed a receding trend at Bhadrachalam on Tuesday evening, but the flood threat persisted in the entire Bhadrachalam Agency, as the Taliperu and other tributaries of the Godavari continue to rise unabated with huge inflows expected from the upstream projects in the next 24 hours.

Official machinery remained on high alert despite the withdrawal of the third flood warning on Tuesday morning, after the water level in the Godavari receded below the danger mark of 53 feet at Bhadrachalam. However, the second flood alert remained in force as the Godavari flowed at 51.60 ft, a little over three feet above the second warning level of 48 ft, at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

Road link to several interior villages in Charla and Dummugudem mandals, bordering Chhattisgarh, remained cut off for the second day.

More than 300 persons from the flood affected/prone villages in the Bhadrachalam Agency continue to stay in the relief camps with flood threat still looming large over most parts of the Agency. Swirling flood water gushed into the two-bedroom housing colony at Gangolu in Dummugudem mandal forcing the local dwellers to move to relief camps, sources said.

The low-lying areas in Bhadrachalam town, including Ayyappa Colony and Kotha Colony, remained surrounded by flood water from the swollen Godavari. The residents of these flood affected areas were sheltered in the relief campus in the temple town.

Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar along with Collector D. Anudeep, visited the relief camps and oversaw the food and other arrangements. Bhadrachalam MLA Podem Veeraiah also visited the relief camps later in the day.

People of the flood-affected areas narrated their woes due to recurring floods during monsoon season almost every year.