Etipaka tahsildar K. Subba Rao organised a meeting with village heads in the presence of peoples’ representatives. He said the district administration is ready to shift people to relief camps in case of floods.
Visakhapatnam: People of several villages along the banks of rivers Godavari and Sabari have started packing and getting ready to move to higher grounds at VR Puram in ASR district.
Both Godavari and Sabari meet at Vaddigudem village. Flood waters from both the rivers inundate Vaddigudem Colony, Sriramagiri, Chintaregupalli and other hamlets. Residents of these areas are demanding that the government establish relief camps and supply kerosene, rice and other essential commodities in advance, so that there will be no rush when water enters their villages.
Local officials said Godavari has started rising, though slowly, after heavy rainfall in Chhattisgarh. Water level has reached 20 feet at Bhadrachalam. Several streams are overflowing in the region due water level rising in the Indravati River.
Etipaka tahsildar K. Subba Rao organised a meeting with village heads in the presence of peoples’ representatives. He said the district administration is ready to shift people to relief camps in case of floods.
“There is no need for people to panic. We have not issued any flood alert. We have just told them that we are ready in case of floods,” Subba Rao told this correspondent.
Officials of the Pochamma Temple in Devipatnam mandal have closed the shrine, as water has surrounded the temple premises.
Irrigation department has lifted 172 gates of the Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage at Dowleswaram. The barrage is receiving inflows of 2,25,676 cubic feet per second, as there are heavy rains in the upper reaches.
Last year 191 villages had been affected due to heavy rains in four mandals of Chittoor division, including VR Puram, Kunavaram, Yetapaka and Chintoor.
