KAKINADA: The continuous water level rise of the Godavari, propelled by inflows to the tune of 25.3 lakh cusecs on Saturday night, has brought to the fore the issue of weakening bunds, which has been ignored for the past few years. At
present, officials are laying sandbags to curb breaches.
Officials of the water resources department identified over 50 vulnerable
points across the river’s course, especially at Akhanda Godavari left and
right embankments, Vashishta left and right embankments, Vynatheya right
embankment, Gowthami left and right embankments, and the PIP embankment.
As recently as May 2022, it sent a flood contingency plan to the government,
but corrective action was not taken.
However, the incessant rainfalls and floods mean the situation cannot be
ignored anymore.
Officials have identified an erosion threat at six important points, with
Sundarapalli-Kulla- Mallavaram points of the Kotipalli embankment, under the
Gowthami-left embankment, in the worst condition. On Saturday, traffic
movement on roads along the route was also curbed to avoid untoward
incidents in case of a breach.
The Annampalli aqueduct is also in a dangerous position, with a breach
imminent.
District revenue officer Sathibabu said the officials are currently laying
sandbags at weakened bunds of Pasarlapudi Lanka, Ramaraju Lanka,
Pallamkurru, Kondukuduru and Sankhinetipalli Lanka.
“Temporary preventive measures have been taken to avoid breaches. However,
these are not sufficient,” an engineer of the water resources department at
Dowleswaram said.
The engineer called for permanent measures, by constructing a pitching and
revetment wall for Rs 45 crore at two points of Kulla and one of Sundarapalli.
Officials also identified a threat to the Necklace bund at the Polavaram
irrigation project, with officials making efforts to arrest water leaks. The
project’s superintendent engineer, K. Narasimha Murthy, said that pipes have
been laid in the bund, but leakages were being caused due to water overflow
and the same has been rectified. However, engineers continue to predict danger due to the perilous situation at vulnerable points.
A breach at Neelapalli in Tallarevu mandal sent officials scrambling, with
people also chipping in efforts to bring the situation under control.
Soil extraction has also placed several points at risk, with one among them
being Bobbilanka village in Seethanagaram mandal.
“Previously the two buses at a time used to travel on the bund. Now, there
is no space for even a footpath. Due to lack of taking steps to curb the
sand and soil digging near the river and the bund, the bund is weakened and
now, it is a great threat to nearly six villages” a farmer of Seethanagaram
village said.
Erosion threat is also necessitating the construction of revetment walls at
Kesankurru, Muramalla and Pasuvullanka villages, besides a need to raise the
embankment level at Boolavarimondi village. Much of the land has been merged
with the river due to erosion near Yedurlanka village. However, works are at
various stages, from estimation to the issue of tenders.
