Rain effect: Godavari at Spate, Reservoirs Receive Huge Inflows

Hyderabad: Heavy rains continued to lash Telangana on Thursday, inundating low-lying areas and throwing normal life out of gear, as the Godavari River was reported to be at spate in Bhadrachalam, with officials issuing the first flood warning.

However, no casualty was reported from any part of the state.

Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao declared two-day holidays for educational institutions, government and private offices within GHMC limits until Saturday. He directed the labour department to ensure closure of private offices, while maintaining emergency and essential services, such as medicines, milk, vegetables and other essentials, without disruption.

Rao also directed Chief Secretary A. Santhi Kumari to take emergency measures in heavy rain-hit areas.

The government machinery, including the police department, has been put on high alert, with the Chief Minister directing officials to carry out relief measures on a war footing and shift people from low-lying, flood-prone areas.

As the first flood warning was issued in Bhadrachalam, Rao deployed Hyderabad collector Anudeep Durishetti in Bhadrachalam to take relief measures, as he served as the Bhadradri-Kothagudem district collector until last week, before he was transferred to Hyderabad.

Incessant rains also led to lakes, tanks and streams overflowing in some districts, which consequently snapped road networks. With the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting heavy to very heavy rains in Telangana until July 24, the state government has sounded a high alert.

Reservoirs received heavy inflows on Thursday, forcing the officials to lift the gates.

The water level of Godavari at Bhadrachalam increased rapidly, crossing the first warning level of 43 feet at 3.19 pm on Thursday. By 4 pm, it rose to 43.30 feet, following which 9,46,412 cusecs of water were discharged.

Officials said that they expect the water level to breach the second warning level, at 48 feet, in the intervening night of Thursday and Friday.

Floodwater, however, entered the temple town of Bhadrachalam, submerging bathing ghats along the river, abutting the karakatta (flood bank). Annadanam Satram (free food camp), shops selling religious items and houses near the Bhadrachalam temple were also inundated.

Officials pumped out floodwater using high-capacity motors, as road connectivity to low-lying villages in Dummugudem, Bhadrachalam, Cherla, Burgampad, Aswapuram and Manugur mandals was affected.

Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari, on the Chief Minister’s instructions, was also gearing up official machinery to set up relief camps and deal with any contingency.

Following the forecast of heavy rains for the next two days, officials operationalised flood control rooms in Bhadrachalam and Kothagudem, deploying NDRF teams on standby for immediate deployment.

The Godavari continued to be at spate all along its course from Basar in Nirmal district to Bhadrachalam in Kothagudem district, following widespread rains in its catchment areas for the third day in a row.

The continuing rains also affected coal production in several mines of state-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), at Khammam, Kothagudem and Mahbubabad, among other districts.

In the Godavari basin, Laxmi Barrage (Medigadda) of the Kaleshwaram project received heavy inflows of over 5.53 lakh cusecs, forcing officials to lift all the gates to release 5.53 lakh cusecs downstream.

Sammakkasagar Barrage (Tuppakulagudem) and Sitammasagar Barrage (Dummugudem) received higher water inflows, of over 8.76 lakh cusecs and 9.27 lakh cusecs, respectively, following which the gates were lifted to release the entire inflows downstream.

Sriramsagar project received inflows of 59,165 cusecs, Nizamsagar project received 23,400 cusecs, Kaddam project received 10,978 cusecs, Yellampally project received 10,226 cusecs and Singur project, 8,440 cusecs.

Except for Kaddam, the gates of the remaining projects were not lifted as they were yet to be filled to the brim.

The Sriramsagar project’s current storage capacity is 36.9 TMC ft, against its gross capacity of 90.3 TMC ft, while Nizamsagar was at 4.3 TMC ft, against capacity of 17.8 TMC ft, Yellampally at 15.2 TMC ft, against 20 TMC ft, Singur project at 19.2 TMC ft, against 29.9 TMC ft and Kaddam project at 5.6 TMC ft, against 7.6 TMC ft.

Water from an overflowing stream inundated a road at Basvapur in Siddipet district, disrupting vehicular traffic. Incessant rains also inundated low-lying areas in Warangal district.

In the past 24 hours, the state recorded an average rainfall of 34.5 mm, against normal rainfall of 7 mm, with a deviation of 393 per cent.

The highest rainfall, 199.5 mm, was recorded in Bejjur of Asifabad district.

Very heavy rainfall (115.6 to 204.4 mm) was recorded at isolated places in Asifabad, Medak, Siddipet, Yadadri, Jangaon and Mahbubabad districts.

Heavy rainfall (64.5 to 115.5 mm) was recorded at isolated places of Asifabad, Mancherial, Nizamabad, Kamareddy, Siddipet, Medak, Sangareddy, Jangaon, Warangal, Mahbubabad, Bhupalapally, Mulugu and Kothagudem districts.

Moderate rainfall (15.6 to 64.4mm) was recorded at most places across the state, except for Nagarkurnool, Gadwal and Narayanpet, all three of which recorded light rains.

The state's average cumulative rainfall from June 1 to July 20 was 279.3 mm, against the normal of 264.6 mm, with a deviation of six per cent.

In the GHMC limits, the highest rainfall, 55.1 mm, was recorded at Kukatpally over the past 24 hours.

The average cumulative rainfall under GHMC limits from June 1 to July 20 was 214.3 mm, against the normal of 212.4 mm, with a deviation of 0.9 per cent.

While none of the districts figured in the ‘large excess’ category, when rains are in excess by 60 per cent and above, seven districts — Siddipet, Sangareddy, Vikarabad, Nirmal, Kamareddy, Jangaon and Medak — figured in the ‘excess’ category, with additional rainfall of 20-59 per cent.

Twenty-one districts figured in the ‘normal’ category, logging rainfall of -19 per cent to 19 per cent than the normal, at Adilabad, Asifabad, Jagtial, Mancherial, Peddapalli, Sircilla, Bhupalapally, Mulugu, Warangal, Hanamkonda, Mahbubnagar, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Hyderabad, Medchal-Malkajgiri, Kothagudem, Rangareddy, Yadadri, Narayanpet, Mahbubabad and Karimnagar.

Five districts, Gadwal, Khammam, Suryapet, Nagarkurnool and Wanaparthy, witnessed deficient rainfall (-20 per cent to -59 per cent).

None of the districts figured in the ‘large deficient’ category (-60 per cent to -99 per cent rainfall) or the ‘no rain’ category (-100 per cent rainfall).