Godavari water level starts receding

Vijayawada/Kakinada: Water level in River Godavari started receding after reaching a high of 11.30ft at 11am on Monday, with a discharge of 9.12 lakh cusecs of water from the Sir Arthur Cotton barrage. By 10pm, the level was down at 11.10ft with a discharge of 8.86 lakh cusecs.

With this, there was palpable relief to the authorities in the erstwhile Godavari districts.

The authorities have been initiating a series of measures in the last few days as the water level rose close to the first warning level at 11.75ft with a discharge of nearly 10 lakh cusecs on Saturday.

Officials said they are ensuring supply of drinking water, milk and other essentials to the affected people and providing health care by setting up temporary camps.

As the water level at Bhadrachalam was falling fast from 36.80ft at 6pm to 35.70ft by 9pm, A further rise in Godavari river was unlikely at the barrage unless there was more rainfall in its catchment areas.

Meanwhile, East Godavari collector Madhavi Latha said instructions were issued to the officials to be alert in case of any rise in the water level in Godavari. The collector laid stress on having a close vigil all along the banks to avert breaches. She asked the parents not to allow their children enter the river or canals for bath during the floods.

Eluru district animal husbandry joint director Nehru Babu said they had set up health camps for livestock at Kukkunuru and Velerupadu mandals. The people were told to take their animals for vaccination and healthcare services to the temporary camps.