Godavari inches close to highest ever flood level

Bhadrachalam reels under severe flood threat

As the Godavari touched the second highest flood level of 70.80 feet after 32 years and inched towards the highest ever flood level of 75.6 feet of 1986 at Bhadrachalam on Friday night, the State government requisitioned the services of the Indian Army to aid the civil administration in the relief and rescue efforts.

More than 20,900 people from 95 flood affected/prone villages in nine mandals, including Bhadrachalam town, in Telangana’s tribal majority district have been moved to 77 relief camps in a major evacuation drive to ward off trouble.

With the Godavari receiving unprecedented inflows to the tune of 23.70 lakh cusecs, the situation in Bhadrachalam turned grim as the floodwaters gushed into various low-lying areas, including all the streets leading to the historic Sri Sitaramachandra Swamy temple dating back to 17 th century.

The temple town and the entire Bhadrachalam Agency is grappling with the worst deluge in more than three decades.

The deluge submerged thousands of acres of agricultural lands, electricity poles and transformers and other vital installations, wreaking havoc in the predominantly tribal district, bordering Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

More than 100 villages mostly comprising the riverside tribal habitations in Dummugudem, Charla and other Agency mandals were worst hit by the massive floods which ravaged their habitations causing enormous loss of property in the past three days. The inundation of electricity poles and transformers besides disconnection of power supply as a safety measure plunged hundreds of villages in Dummugdem and Charla mandals into darkness, sources added.

The entire Bhadrachalam Agency remained cut off from the rest of the world due to snapping of road links by the raging floodwaters. The temple town remained out of bounds for the second day in a row.