Several Villages in Andhra, Telangana, Odisha Marooned as Godavari Swells

The swollen Godavari river has been discharging 19.05 lakh cusecs of water, according to the State Disaster Management Authority.

(Image: PTI)

Over 300 villages along the Godavari course are reeling under the impact of the flood while another 177 villages lay marooned as of Saturday, 16 July.

The swollen river has been discharging 19.05 lakh cusecs of water, according to the State Disaster Management Authority. The flood crossed the third danger signal at Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage at Dowaleswaram near Rajamahendravaram in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday morning and the situation is expected to get worse.

Special Chief Secretary (Revenue-Disaster Management) G Sai Prasad, who has been monitoring the situation from the State Emergency Operations Centre said, "As many as 554 villages under 42 mandals in six districts will face the impact of flood if the level touches 20 lakh cusecs at Cotton Barrage. Hence, we are accordingly alerting the district authorities concerned on the situation."

Telangana

After over three decades, the temple town of Bhadrachalam in Telangana’s Bhadradri Kothagudem district has been marooned in flood waters.

The water level in Godavari at Bhadrachalam had already crossed the last danger mark of 53.9 feet on July 11 and touched 70 ft by Friday evening. The temple town was cut off from the rest of the state and the bridge connecting the town with Sarapaka on the western side became inaccessible. The Godavari water cut off the road transport from Bhadrachalam towards Charla and Kukunoor, as the water submerged the surrounding villages.

The chief secretary has instructed the Indian Army officials to provide assistance in the Bhadradri Kothagudem district and 101 men of whom 68 from the Infantry, 10 Medical professionals and 23 engineers have been positioned. The tourism department has dispatched four special boats and the fire department has dispatched seven boats along with 210 life jackets for relief and rescue operations.

A red alert has been issued in Mulugu district, where the Godavari river has crossed danger levels.

Meanwhile, the body of a Telugu television channel reporter, who was washed away in flash floods in Nizamabad and Jagitial districts was recovered by the rescue teams on Friday morning.

Three days after journalist Zameer, 36, went missing while covering the Telangana floods, his body was found on 15 July. The reporter, working with the Telugu news channel NTV, had gone to Bornapalli village in Raikal mandal of Jagtial district to report on nine farm labourers who were trapped in the Godavari floods. Zameer and a Syed Riyaz Ali were traveling in a car which got washed away by the floodwaters. While the latter was pulled to safety, Zameer was washed away.

The deceased belonged to Jagtial town and is survived by his wife and two children.

Nearly 20,000 people have been shifted to 223 special camps in Telangana. Over 16 people have been rescued by NDRF while another two were airlifted by the Indian Air Force so far.

Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted light rainfall in nine districts, very light rains in another 10 districts while the remaining districts will receive no rainfall. Seven NDRF teams have been deployed of which three are in Bhadrachalam, while two each are in Mulugu and Bhupalpally.

Andhra Pradesh

Several parts of Andhra Pradesh – mostly in the West Godavari and Konaseema districts – have been inundated.

The impact of the flood could be felt in 20 mandals in Konaseema district, eight mandals in East Godavari, five in Alluri Sitarama Raju, four in West Godavari, three in Eluru and two in Kakinada districts,

Eluru district collector V Prasanna Venkatesh, who reviewed the flood situation at Velerupadu, detailed that about 1,200 tribal families are staying in the cut-off villages. The administration has planned to air-drop food, water, milk and medicines and relocate the locals to safety.

The worst hit was Konaseema district where 36 lanka (island) villages were totally inundated. About 220 relief camps are continuing in different districts where 62,337 people from flood-hit habitations have been sheltered, according to SDMA Managing Director, B R Ambedkar.

Chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday conducted an aerial survey and instructed the officials to evacuate people in all the island villages of Konaseema. Nine NDRF and 10 SDRF teams have been deployed to undertake rescue and relief operations.

The state has announced a relief of ₹2,000 for families who have been impacted.

Odisha

Several people have been evacuated from low-lying areas in parts of Odisha’s Malkangiri district, as several villages and fields were inundated. The district administration has opened shelter camps at different places for the flood-affected people, Malkangiri Collector Vishal Singh said.

The district has received heavy showers for the past four days and backwaters from the river has entered Motu, Kalimela and Padia blocks. At least three villages – Binayakpur, Alama and Peta – have been completed inundated in the flood.

So far, no human casualties have been reported. The IMD has forecast light to moderate rain in most places across Odisha, with heavy to very heavy rainfall in some parts of the state.