Godavari in spate, third warning signal sounded

Villagers along the Godavari river were put on high alert as the water level was increasing significantly. First time in this season, a third warning signal was issued at 4.16 pm on Saturday after Godavari water level reached 53 feet at Bhadrachalam.

As the flood water reached AMC Colony and Kotha Colony in Bhadrachalam, officials shifted 100 families from these colonies to a shelter set up in Nannapaneni high school in the town.

Police barricaded roads and did not allow people towards Godavari river. Movement of people was banned in Karakatta (bund) as a precaution. The number of devotees to Bhadrachalam drastically came down due to the situation.

There was danger for submerge of 16 villages in Cherla and Dummuguda mandal, if Godavari water level crosses 55 feet. Vehicles towards Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh side from Bhadrachalam were not allowed as Godawari water was flowing onto the road at Kannai village. The vehicles were stopped by the police on the outskirts of Bhadrachalam.

Road connectivity between Vijayawada and Jagdalpur, Reddypalem and Sarapaka, Bhadrachalam and Burgampadu, Harshapuram mandal was also disrupted as flood water flowed onto roads at several places.

Cotton and chilli crops across hundreds of acres were submerged in Harshapuram, Cheragulagudem and Sunnambatti villages in the district. As per a bulletin issued at 7 pm, Godavari water level at Bhadrachalam was recorded as 53.3 feet and discharge of water is 14,40,810 cusecs.

District collector Jithesh V Patil said the water level of Godavari river was increasing hour by hour and people living in low-lying areas in Bhadrachalam and villages along the river have been asked to be ready to be shifted to safer areas.

Officials announced second danger warning with rise in water level in the Godavari River at Ramannagudem of Eturnagaram mandal due to heavy inflow of flood water with incessant rains that witnessed from the past few days in upstream Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, in Mulugu district on Saturday.
With water level reaching 15.83 metres in the Godavari against its normal level of 13.5 metres, the officials announced a second danger warning. Since the water level is fluctuating between 16 and 17 metres from the morning, the officials who are on high alert. The third danger warning will be issued if the water level crosses 17.32 meters in the river at Ramannagudem.