Floods Snap Road Link Between Konaseema and West Godavari Districts

KAKINADA: As floodwaters swell River Godavari, life is thrown out of gear in the entire region. Road transport has been suspended between the BR Ambedkar Konaseema and West Godavari districts following inundation of the border areas of the Kanakayalanka causeway.

The Gantipedapudi Lanka, Arigerivaripeta, Vudimudi lanka, Anagayalanka and Kanakayalanka villages were encircled by floodwaters. Road transport has been suspended, and the villages remain cut off from the mandal headquarters.

Officials arranged boats to help the residents of islet villages. People were seen going to the mandal headquarters or other villages by boats to purchase essential commodities and for other urgent errands.

Villagers regret that a proposal for construction of a bridge for the area has not been taken forward for years. All the crops, mainly banana and paddy, in the fields have been inundated.

Meanwhile, many Godavari bunds turned weak due to the floods. Farmers of Sundarapalli village are living in fear. Officials submitted proposals for a permanent construction at Sundarapalli near Kotipalli, but the government did not release funds for strengthening the bund, they complain.

Authorities however tried to protect the bund from a breach by positioning sandbags to plug the leak. Floodwaters leapt up to the Gandipochamma temple, on the way to Papikondalu, forcing its closure.

Eluru Collector Vetri Selvi along with SP Kishore visited the Salt Creek near Someswaram village in Kaikaluru mandal on Friday. She ordered removal of the weed from the creek on a war-footing.

The collector and the SP perched on a tractor went to the Kolleru lake area where villages have been inundated.

Chief minister Chandrababu Naidu reviewed the Kolleru and Godavari floods situations with collector Selvi via teleconference. Selvi said floodwaters entered Kolleru due to the heavy rains and flooding of Budameru. The Godavari levels, she said, were falling from Friday evening. Naidu subsequently conducted an aerial survey and observed the flood situation in the region.

Selvi held a meeting with the irrigation and agriculture officials. She asked officials to explore ways to take Godavari waters to Kolleru lake.

Several organisations prepared food and distributed it to the flood victims in NTR District. Sitting atop a tractor, Denduluru MLA Chintamaneni Prabhakar visited Gogunta village in Pedapadu mandal in Eluru district . The village was inundated due to the Budameru floods. He said the flood-affected persons should be served breakfast, milk, lunch and dinner without showing any discrimination.

“The government is giving 25 kilos of rice, edible oil, onions, potatoes etc to each flood victim. This apart, 25 kilos each of cattle feed is being distributed for feeding animals," he said, adding that many villages in Kukkunur and Velerupadu mandals were inundated.