Vijayawada: The Budameru is going to pose a major threat to the capital city again. Around 10 divisions of the city are going to be badly affected, in case of flash floods in these two months. Irrigation minister Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao has directed the revenue administration and civic body to gear up for the situation and asked the authorities to take up evacuation measures in case of inundation. In addition to improving the existing Budameru course to the required standards, the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) has been advised to examine and implement flood management measures immediately.
The state government is shortly going to take a final call over the permanent solution to Budameru flash floods, the minister said. There are alternative proposals for diverting inflows from hills on the northern side of Ambapuram, Pathapadu, Nunna and other villages into Budameru course through 30-vent railway bridge by converting the existing Gollapudi supply channel as flood flow canal, according to Inland Waterways’ executive engineer V. Sreedhar.
By excavating new channel for Gollapudi supply channel with common bank, taking off from Pamula Kalva siphon is to be examined and the department is on the job, he explained. “These measures will arrest the entry of inflows into the low-lying colonies of Vijayawada city to avoid submersion,” the executive engineer observed. Thousands of temporary and permanent houses were constructed on both banks.
Roads, water supply, power connections and other amenities were provided to the people by Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) and by AP Transco. “These houses are to be evicted for improvement, which might be opposed by the public and political parties,” a senior VMC official said and added that the reach of Budameru upto Gunadala is the main bottleneck for the implementation of scheme.
“Unless this reach is improved, discharge cannot be sent downwards and flood inundation in Vijayawada city could not be averted,” a senior engineer of the VMC said. The existing causeways, low level bridges, foot bridges are to be removed and reconstructed to the required standards, he explained and added that if the lining is provided in this reach, the entire flood water could be sent without much hindrance. The revenue administration and VMC are given specific instructions from the Irrigation minister in this regard.
