Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan reviewed the flood situation in Eluru district on Wednesday. Rising water levels in the Godavari River prompted authorities to issue a danger alert at Dowleswaram Cotton Barrage.
Rajahmundry District Collector P Prasanthi said that people in areas along the river banks have been alerted as the Godavari River is in spate. The irrigation officials are releasing 13 lakh cusecs of water downstream.
People have been cautioned against bathing in the river, and fishermen have also been warned against venturing into it.
The authorities have also advised people not to immerse Ganesh idols in the river for 48 hours as the river is in spate. They have been urged to postpone the immersion.
Dy CM Pawan Kalyan spoke to Eluru District Collector K Vetri Selvi over the phone to review the district’s flood situation.
The District Collector informed him that due to heavy rains upstream, Eluru and Thandava reservoirs received huge inflows, and as a result, crops over 62,000 acres in the district were submerged.
Breaches and overflowing canals inundated roads, affecting vehicle movement in the Pithapuram and Peddapuram constituencies.
Traffic came to a halt on Pithapuram-Raparthi, Peddapuram-Gudivada, and Samarlakota-Pithapuram roads. The flood water overflowed the national highway at Gollaprolu, diverting vehicular traffic.
The Collector informed the Deputy CM that boats and rescue teams were pressed into service for rescue and relief operations in the affected areas. The Collector said the intensity of floods in Eluru reservoir was receding.
On Wednesday morning, the inflows were 12,567 cusecs. The storage in the reservoirs stood at 22.16 TMC, compared to its full capacity of 24.11 TMC.
The authorities have opened four gates of the reservoir. Pawan Kalyan directed that the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Army teams be used for rescue and relief works in the affected areas.
He also asked officials to provide food, drinking water, milk and other essentials to people in the flood-hit areas.
He said the officials should speak to farmers affected by the floods and assure them that the government will extend all possible help to them.
This story is based on an IANS wire feed.
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