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.
Boats deployed
In Konaseema district, a fleet of 172 boats has been deployed, both for the evacuation operation and transportation of materials and other commodities.
At least 30 villages have been affected and 20 relief camps are being run in the district, according to an official bulletin.
The enumeration of loss to the agriculture and horticulture crops will begin after the flood recedes completely. The Disaster Response Forces personnel are playing an active role in the distribution of the essential commodities in the affected villages.
Meanwhile, the third Godavari flood warning has been withdrawn at Bhadrachalam in Telangana. However, the second flood warning remains in force at the Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage at Dowleswaram.
