Flood Crisis Deepens; Emergency Situation For Kandaleru Dam

Nellore: The Kandaleru dam in the flood-hit Nellore region faced an alarming situation after spillway shutters failed to open and the existing generator lacked the power to lift them on Thursday.

This, even as inflows crossed 50,000 cusecs and the reservoir touched 60tmc level of its 68tmc capacity.

In a critical intervention, TD leader Somireddy Rajagopal Reddy arranged an external generator to help officials attempt lifting the jammed shutters. District collector Himanshu Shukla and senior engineers remained at the site for hours, monitoring the rising pressure with downstream mandals on edge.

Rajagopal Reddy expressed confidence in lifting the shutters with an alternative generator and releasing 500 cusecs to maintain safe storage level in the Dam.

Meanwhile, continuous heavy rains triggered widespread flooding across multiple mandals. The Kaivalya river in Saidapuram was overflowing, with water gushing over the Turimerla check dam.

The Kandaleru stream in Manubolu mandal has inundated the Sangameswara temple near Badvelu road while the outskirts of Nellore city were experiencing severe waterlogging. At the Swarnamukhi barrage in Vakadu, all 13 gates were lifted to release 23,000 cusecs downstream following heavy upstream inflow.

Road connectivity between Saidapuram and Podalakuru has been snapped, while in Tada mandal, the Karijatha lake was dangerously close to a breach. In Gudur Rural, flood water was flowing over the Rapur road near Tippavarapadu Cross, stalling movement between Gudur and Saidapuram.

Farmlands across several mandals resembled vast lakes as tanks and ponds were overflowing. The large Chembeedu tank in Pellakur mandal was on the verge of breaching, prompting RDO Kiranmayi and DSP Chenchu Babu to supervise evacuations.

In Sarvepalli constituency, four days of continuous rain have submerged thousands of acres of crops, damaging paddy nurseries and fields.

TD MLA Somireddy Chandramohan toured flood-hit villages including Tatiparthipalem, Eguvamitta, Poodiparthi, Narikelapalli and Vallur, assuring affected families of support and criticising the poor maintenance of irrigation structures, saying this was the reason for exacerbating the crisis.

Officials and local TDP workers continued evacuating stranded villagers, cattle herders and tribal labourers from low-lying and coastal belt areas as rains showed no sign of abating.