Visakhapatnam: Natural tanks and tank poromobokes in major cities like Vizag and Vijayawada, in AP are encroached which may lead to a Chennai flood-like situation if there are sudden cloud bursts.
In Nellore, after the flooding due to rains, last month, the state government had launched a special drive, to demolish illegal structures that came up on storm water drains and tanks.
Apart from quenching the thirst of people, these tanks and tank poromobokes act as catchment areas holding the excess rainwater if any. In Vizag alone, there were once around 151 natural tanks and tank poromobokes that come under GVMC limits which ranged from 1 acre to 50 acres.
According to documents of the GVMC over a survey of these tanks, accessed by Deccan Chronicle, and compared to 1902 land records of present GVMC extent, nearly 2,000 hectares of tanks land has been encroached upon by private persons.
Ironically in some of the tank poromboke sites, there are some government buildings that have come up over a period of time. For instance, at Pendurthy, in one of the tank poromboke land site, government constructed 1,000 houses under JNNURM scheme for BPL families. During excess rainfall these houses face inundation.
Former government of India secretary, E.A.S. Sarma, had recently suggested ecological mapping of all the towns and cities in Andhra Pradesh to identify water bodies and catchment areas, to restore them.
He also wrote a letter to the state Chief Secretary, I.Y.R. Krishna Rao, asking the state government to set up an expert group with representatives from reputed urban planning groups in India to carry out ecological mapping.
However, GVMC officials are of the view that, barring low lying areas, a majority of Vizag city, is safe even if it rains heavily because of the slant drainage basin due to which rain water goes into the sea.
“Unlike, Chennai and Nellore, where excess rain water goes into nearby tanks, in Vizag, it goes into the sea. In that way Vizag is safe. Except some low lying areas, even during heavy rainfall, the city will not hold the water; it will go into the sea. But there are some instances that buildings have come up on tank porombokes, in Vizag. We have to spend some more money to develop storm water drain infrastructure in those places so that the excess water drains out into the sea in case of heavy rains instead of holding it,” GVMC Commissioner, Praveen Kumar told this correspondent.
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