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AP flood situation grim as toll rises to 142

Syed Amin Jafri in Hyderabad

The flood situation in Andhra Pradesh continues to be grim, with the Godavari in spate. The death toll due to heavy rain rose to 142, even as 258 villages have been submerged under flood water.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced in the state legislative assembly that the Central Water Commission has issued a warning that due to a rainfall of 40 cm in catchment areas of Pranahita and Godavari in neighbouring Maharashtra, the Godavari is expected to rise rapidly in Andhra Pradesh in three to four days.

Further rain is expected and the situation in the Godavari is likely to be similar to the unprecedented floods in 1983, the chief minister said, and pointed out that district collectors in all districts in Godavari basin and sub-basin areas have been warned of floods and asked to take precautionary steps to evacuate people from low-lying and vulnerable areas.

Naidu said the situation was serious in Adilabad, Nizamabad, Warangal, Karimnagar and Khammam in Telangana, with heavy rain aggravating the situation.

Revenue Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju said 3,050 villages spread over 13 districts have been affected due to the heavy rain that started on August 22 under the influence of a depression in the Bay of Bengal.

Raju said the situation continued to be alarming as over 2,434 minor irrigation tanks had been breached in the affected districts. The Kurnool-Cuddapah canal in southern Andhra Pradesh had been breached at 12 places.

He said 23 out of 50 villages around Kolleru lake in West Godavari district on the southern Andhra coast have been inundated due to rising water level on account of floods in the Tammileru and Yerrakalva. Paddy crop over 100,000 hectares has been submerged.

"We are struggling to control breaches at the Lunger Hauz and Foxsagar tanks on the outskirts of the city. The situation is serious," the minister explained.

Raju said that the Godavari was in spate at several places. The river had crossed the first danger mark at Eturnagaram and Bhadrachalam. He said Karimnagar, Warangal, Khammam and West Godavari districts received heavy rainfall in the last 24 hours.

A spokesman of the Central Water Commission said the water level all along the Godavari was rising. The level had reached 49 feet, as against the danger mark of 53 feet, near the temple town of Bhadrachalam at 0900 hours on Monday. The water level had reached 37.3 feet, as against the danger level of 40 feet at Kunavaram. At Dowleshwaramm, the danger level of 3.58 metres was crossed by Monday morning. At Bhadrachalam, the level is expected to reach 51.5 feet by Monday midnight.

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