Families being evacuated to safer places in Godavari districts

KAKINADA: Unlike earlier times when revenue officials would shift flood affected families around Polavaram, this time around it is the ‘once bitten twice shy’ people themselves who are vacating villages to save their lives.

Nearly 1,000 families have been shifted to rehabilitation shelters in East and West Godavari districts due to Godavari floods and besides hundreds of families have left villages on their own fearing floods. More than 50 villages in the two Godavari districts are without road connectivity. However, the officials say that rehabilitation centres have been set up for flood victims and they can get shelter until the floodwaters recede.

In Devipatnam mandal, the Gandi Posamma temple was inundated and road connectivity at Dandangi village has been cut-off. Rampachodavarm sub-collector K. Simhachalam said that five shelters have been set up for the flood victims and all arrangements have been made to help them. In Polavaram mandal, transport facilities are cut-off to 19 villages. Officials arranged a boat to ferry people to get essential commodities.

Jangareddygudem RDO Y.V. Prasanna Lakshmi said that nearly 400 families have been shifted to safer places and some families moved to other places on their own. She said that 1,700 families from Polavaram and flood-affected villages have been shifted to R&R Colonies and another 1,600 families would be shifted shortly.

In Kukkunuru in West Godavari district the bridge between Vakaram and Kukunuru was inundated and transportation was cut-off to five villages. Around 90 families in the mandal were shifted to other places as Gommugudem village faced Godavari flood. People from Bestagudem, Sitaramapuram and other villages are ready to move out if the water levels reach 60 feet at Bhadrachalam.

It was hectic activity in and around Aswaraopeta, Vinayakapuram, Narayanapuram, Nandipadu, Aguvaka and other villages as rivulets like Yedduvagu, Tekuruvagu, Peddavagu and others received heavy inflows in Velerupadu mandal of West Godavari. Due to receiving heavy inflows, nearly 26 villages under these rivulets were affected. Velerupadu tahasildar K.Challanna Dora said that 16 shelters were provided to flood victims. However, he said that there is no immediate danger to these villages.

Chinturu ITDA project officer Akula Venkata Ramana said that nearly 500 families from Udayabhaskar Nagar colony and others in Kunavaram mandal were being evacuated. He said that inflows from upstream of Godavari are receding and the flood threat can subside gradually.