Thousands of tribal people settle on top of Papikonda hills to escape flood fury in Andhra Pradesh’s Eluru district

Third flood warning withdrawn at Bhadrachalam, while second warning continues at Dowleswaram; enumeration of crop loss to begin after floods recede completely

Thousands of tribal people continue to take shelter on top of the Papikonda hills in order to save their lives from the Godavari flood that has devastated their habitations in the Eluru and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts.

As of July 30 (Sunday), a majority of the affected people in the Agency areas of Eluru district moved to the nearby hill range, leaving behind their belongings, while the remaining left to their relatives’ places outside the flood-hit areas.

“Of the 13,000 people affected in the district, we have evacuated and rehabilitated more than 4,000 so far. Of the remaining 9,000 people, a majority of them have settled on the top of hills,” said Eluru District Joint Collector B. Lavanya Veni.

The officials are supplying essential commodities and other materials to the people in the flood-hit areas by boats. Pregnant women have been shifted to the relief camps and health centres nearby. As many as 45 habitations have been affected in the Velerupadu and Kukkunur mandals in Eluru district.

In the Chintoor Agency in Alluri Sitharama Raju district, scores of affected people have arranged for themselves temporary shelters on top of the hills located adjacent to the Godavari river.

The tribal people have made nearly 10-km stretch of the Papikonda hill range, beginning from the Pochavaram point, their home to save their lives in the district.

Every year, the tribal people prefer to stay on top of the hills instead of being evacuated to the relief camps.