Strengthen Pennar River Bunds to Prevent Future Floods: MLA Prashanthi

Nellore: Kovur MLA Vemireddy Prasanthi Reddy on Friday urged the government in the Assembly to strengthen the Pennar river bunds to prevent loss of life and property in flood-prone areas.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, she recalled the devastation caused by the 2021 Nivar cyclone, when breaches in the Pennar bunds led to severe flooding in Kovur, Buchireddypalem and Indukurupeta mandals.

Pothireddypalem, Saluchintala, Damaramadugu, Mudivarthi, Pallipadu, Gangapatnam and Rajulakalva villages suffered extensive damage, with normal life paralysed for nearly 10 days. The National Disaster Response Force had to step in for rescue operations, she noted.

The MLA said floodwaters surrounded several villages in Indukurupeta mandal, forcing residents to flee to safer places. Agricultural lands were buried under sand deposits and remain unproductive.

She also pointed out that nearly five acres of land belonging to the historic Pallipadu Satyagraha Ashram were eroded by the river. The Palem Upputeru bridge near Gangapatnam was damaged in the floods, disrupting road connectivity to coastal villages.

Warning that a fresh breach near Pallipadu could inundate the entire Indukurupeta mandal, she called for immediate strengthening of bunds on both sides of the river at Pallipadu and along the 40-km stretch of the Pennar in the Kovur constituency to avert future disasters.