Govt. will find a permanent solution to flooding of Vijayawada by Budameru, says Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Naidu

Govt. will find a permanent solution to flooding of Vijayawada by Budameru, says Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Naidu. He lashes out at YSRCP for making baseless allegations on the government’s disaster management efforts, and asserts that normalcy will be restored in a day or two. Government outlets will sell vegetables at fixed prices and distribute other essential commodities from September 5, he says.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said on September 4 (Wednesday) that the State government would work out a permanent solution to prevent flooding of Vijayawada and its surrounding areas by the Budameru rivulet, which was to be largely blamed for the current disaster.

Budameru could accommodate only 11,000 cusecs of floodwater, but a staggering 70,000 cusecs coming out of it caused inundation of several colonies in the city. The Krishna waters aggravated the situation.

Encroachments of the Budameru rivulet and a major blockage of the route through which it drains into the Kolleru Lake triggered the massive flood, he said. The extent of encroachments would be surveyed and action taken in the due course, he added.

Addressing the mediapersons at the Collectorate here, Mr. Naidu said, about 11.43 lakh cusecs of water was released from the Prakasam Barrage (which was designed for a maximum of 11.90 lakh cusecs) as a record 37 centimeters of rainfall pounded the city, and a further spell of heavy rain would have brought a disaster of unimaginable scale.

He said Budameru draws water from streams that originate at Reddigudem, Gangineni, Munagapadu, Madhavaram and Gaddamadugu, and as its path to Kolleru, in which Yarravagu also joins, was constricted, the unprecedented flood happened.

Mr. Naidu said attempts to repair and expand Budameru in the 1970s, and a subsequent plan to divert it into the Polavaram Right Main Canal during floods had failed, and that the regulator at Velagaleru was too small a structure to withstand such flood fury.

The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) Government had diverted about ₹500 crore that was available for taking up the Budameru flood containment works. But unmindful of it, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and a handful of his party leaders were making baseless allegations against the coalition government.