Ganesha Idol (Photo by arrangement)
Kakinada: Stating that this year's Ganesh Chaturthi was held amid incessant rains in the state, East Godavari district collector P. Prashanthi on Tuesday said only designated government officials will be allowed to immerse the idols and devotees will be prohibited from entering the water. She said special arrangements have been made at busy ghats in the district -- Rajamahendravaram, Kovvuru, Tadipudi, and Seethanagaram. She requested the devotees to cooperate in view of rising floods. Even fishing boats were not allowed to enter the river.
In view of the prediction for more rain, Prashanthi said revenue, police, irrigation, and disaster management departments have to coordinate operations in low-lying areas. She said officials should identify the direction of water flow and caution the people accordingly.
She said the district was receiving flood waters from upstream areas in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and Bhadrachalam in the state. Presently, the Dowleswaram Barrage is discharging 8 lakh cusecs (one cubic foot per second) of water. She said flood-affected families will be given `3,000 financial assistance, bedsheets and essentials before they are shifted to relief camps.
Prashanti said barricades should be set up at river ghats to stop people from entering the Godavari. She instructed joint collector Chinna Ramudu to pay attention to providing rehabilitation to the people of Seethanagaram, Mulakallanka, Rajamahendravaram Urban Bridge Lanka, Kethavari Lanka, Vedurulanka, Pallipalem and other villages and identify the vulnerable places in Rajamahendravaram, Seethanagaram, Nidadavole, Nallajerla, Devarapalli, Gopalapuram and other mandals.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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