No Major Flood Threat, Situation Under Control in AP: Ramanaidu
The water coming to Amaravathi has been diverted to Prakasam barrage, but the water has not been released to the canals, Nimmala said.
Kakinada: Water Resources Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu has said there is no need for worry about floods, as no serious threat exists to the dams, crops and lives in Andhra Pradesh. “The situation is under control,” he said.
The minister told the media at Palakollu in West Godavari district on Monday that 170mm to 200mm rainfall was recorded in Ponnuru. Crops were inundated as floodwaters entered the fields. Some 2,000 cusecs of water from the Kondaveeti rivulet was being lifted and sent to the Prakasam barrage with use of six pumps.
Though 3,000 cusecs of floodwater reached the rivulet, there was no problem. The Krishna and western main canal as also the Gunturu and Appapuram channels were closed due to the rains. The water coming to Amaravathi has been diverted to Prakasam barrage, but the water has not been released to the canals, the minister said.
He also said a hole developed on the road beside the cofferdam of the Polavaram project. A regulator would be fixed to Karakatta as part of its reconstruction and there was no worry over the safety of the project gates. The state government has approved a plan to change three gates of the Tungabhadra project at an estimated cost of `52 crore. The works are being entrusted to the contractors.
The minister said that in view of the safety steps, the Tungabhadra board has decided to store only 80tmc of water. Seven gates have been strengthened for the Tungabhadra. He said there will be no hindrances for Ayacut lands in supplying water to the kharif crop.
He said the previous YSRC government destroyed the irrigation system. It did not effect repairs to the water projects and water bodies and ignored the agriculture sector. The alliance government, he said, is making efforts to streamline the systems and strengthen the barrages and water bodies.
