With the officials discharging floodwater from the Polavaram project and the Sir Arthur Cotton (SAC) Barrage at Dowleswaram, many habitations continued to be under a sheet of water for the fifth day on Sunday.
More than 500 villages of 62 mandals in six districts were affected due to the unprecedented floods in the Godavari in Andhra Pradesh, forcing the authorities to evacuate more than 75,000 people from the flooded habitations.
The authorities arranged distribution of cooked food, bread, biscuits, milk, drinking water, medicines and other essential commodities to the victims.
The floodwater level at Bhadrachalam was 61.80 feet and the discharge was 18,62,921 cusecs on Sunday. At the Polavaram project, the discharge was 21,11,851 cusecs. At the SAC Barrage, the irrigation authorities were releasing 25,46,730 cusecs into the sea.
Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) said about 71,000 people were shifted to 177 relief camps set up in Eluru, Alluri Sitarama Raju, West Godavari, Konaseema, and other districts.
Communication was cut off to more than 200 habitations, and boats were arranged to shift people from marooned habitations.
“More boats have been requisitioned from Narsapuram in West Godavari to shift the victims,” said Eluru district Collector V. Prasanna Venkatesh.
Relief operations
Indian Navy helicopters were pressed into service to air-drop food, medicines and drinking water sachets to the victims at Koida, Katukuru, Repakagommu, Dacharam, Bhudevipeta, Rudramkota, Tirumalapalem, Naarlavaram, and other habitations in the Agency areas of the district.
About 10 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) 10 th Battalion and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were taking up rescue and relief operations using inflated boats, rafts and mechanised and country-made boats.
“We appeal to the people to shift to the relief centres as the floodwater level is rising in the tail-end villages, and the discharge is heavy from the Polavaram project and SAC Barrage,” said MLA Tellam Balaraju.
Special officers allotted to each district to monitor floods, along with district Collectors, Joint Collectors, District Revenue Officers, Revenue Divisional Officers and tahsildars were monitoring the relief operations.
“Though the floodwater level at Bhadrachalam is receding, there is little relief in the marooned habitations. More than five feet water is stagnated in many habitations along the river’s bund,” said M. Rajanna of Velerupadu.
