Call to Modernise Budameru with Rs.10,000 Crore Fund

Vijayawada: Despite the passing of one year, the Budameru stream flood nightmare still haunts the people here. Some 75 persons had died and 2.65 lakh families were displaced in the flooding on August 31 last.

Those living in the Budameru-affected areas are seeking a permanent solution to check the flooding of Vijayawada’s Sorrow Budameru stream. The Budameru flood victims united forum would submit mass requisitions and memorandums to the NTR district collector and other officials during the public grievances programme here on Monday.

They would seek an allotment of Rs.10,000 crore in funds for modernization of the Budameru stream to protect the city from floods.

On the fateful day, the majority of people in the areas through which the Budameru stream passes were confined to the top floors of their homes due to inundation of the ground and first floors of their houses.

Several teams conducted surveys, which found 98,662 houses, 5975 MSMEs and 41814 vehicles were damaged and around 40,000 farmers, 2448 horticulture farmers and 479 fishermen were affected due to the devastation.

The residents of Ajit Singh Nagar, Asifa Begum and Md Shafi, said they were born and brought up in this colony. Earlier, Budameru used to cause inundation of roads. But, on August 31 in 2024, it turned into a big nightmare for them.

“We took shelter on the top floor due to the submerging of our ground floor. We had to remain there without power and came out after seven days, following the receding of the floodwaters.

They, as also other victims, said that the Budameru trauma still haunts them. They are facing skin-related and other illnesses and are living in fear during heavy rains. On August 19, the VMC deployed a few boats in Ajit Singh Nagar as a precautionary measure, but the public panicked, fearing a repeat of the Budameru floods of the last year. This prompted the officials to remove the boats.

The locals urged the government to take permanent measures to restrain the flow of the Budameru stream floods and safeguard the inhabitants of Vijayawada.

On Sunday evening, under the leadership of former MLA and Vijayawada central constituency YSR Congress coordinator Malladi Vishnu, a candlelight protest was held here, seeking justice for the Budameru flood victims. It saw large participation from senior leaders, including former minister Vellampalli Srinivas Rao, YSRC NTR district president Devineni Avinash, Vijayawada mayor Rayana Bhagyalakshmi, deputy mayor Avatu Shailaja Reddy and party activists.

They condemned the government’s inaction to prevent future floods and its failure to deliver compensation to those who were affected by last year’s floods.

CPIM state secretariat member Babu Rao said despite promises by chief minister Chandrababu Naidu to take permanent flood prevention measures, only minor and ineffective repairs have been completed. “A paltry Rs.30 crore was spent on patchwork repairs.”

He accused both the central and state governments of ignoring expert committee recommendations including one from 1964, which called for flood management solutions such as constructing retaining walls similar to those on the Krishna river, expanding and deepening the diversion channels, and building parallel canals to properly drain floodwaters to safer outlets like Kolleru Lake and ultimately to the sea.