KAKINADA: Flooded Godavari continued to pose problems for the region’s inhabitants on Monday as more than 140 villages in the merged mandals like Chinturu, Yetapaka, Kunavaram, VR Puram and Velerupadu remained inundated or cut off.
A private bus going to Vijawayawada from Odisha got stuck in the floodwaters near Kuyuguru bridge in Chinturu mandal. The driver felt the road was safe and proceeded but the vehicle got stuck in the floodwaters. The driver and 42 passengers got down and walked through the floodwaters to a safe location.
The village revenue officer took steps to pull the bus from the floodwaters to safety with the help of a JCB. Later, the passengers continued their journey by bus to Vijayawada.
River Sabari was also receiving heavy inflows. The water level was at 40 feet in Sabari-Godavari Sangamam.
The Sokuluru rivulet was overflowing onto the roads while 20 villages were inundated due to the floods in Chinturu mandal, where the floodwaters were flowing at 31- feet depth.
An old tree was uprooted between the Maredumilli-Chinturu Ghat road near the Kuguru-Motu Road. Electric wires snapped as a result. Officials cut the supply to the area and started work to restore normalcy.
The irrigation department discharged 9,16,846 cusecs of water into the sea from Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage at Dowleswaram by 4 pm on Monday. The floodwater levels started receding on Monday afternoon at Bhadrachalam. Officials hoped the level at Dowleswaram barrage too would recede by Tuesday evening.
East Godavari collector Madhavi Latha asked officials to guard against the onset of seasonal diseases. The departments of health, panchayats, municipalities, corporations as also the RWS department would work in perfect coordination to tackle the flood situation. Employees would visit every house and create awareness among the people on steps for safety. They would clear the drainages and garbage, the collector said.
The Rajamahendravaram municipal commissioner Dinesh Kumar said officials would upload the fever survey data on the official app. The volunteers completed 83 per cent of the fever survey.
The Konaseema collector Himanshu Shukla said the administration was providing essentials to four islet villages --Arigelavari lanka, Pedapudi Lanka, Udimudilanka and Burugu Vari lanka – which remained cut off due to loss of road connectivity to G Pedapudi village following a breach to the causeway.
P-Gannavaram mandal tahsildar G.R. Tagore told Deccan Chronicle that Mini Rythu Bazaars were set up at the islet villages and gas dealers would supply cylinders to the affected families. The people need not go to Pedapudi village to fetch essential commodities.
High school students are directed to go to the local primary schools. “Three teachers of the high school from Pedapudi are going to the islet villages to take the lessons for the students in marooned villages. Safe drinking water is being supplied to the people in the islet villages,” he said.
Two boats have been arranged for transportation between the affected areas.
