Nellore: Encroachment of canal lands poses flood threat

Nellore: As rains resume on Sunday, people are spending sleepless nights fearing floods similar to the ones brought about by torrential rains in November 2015. The city has been witnessing rains since November 11 with floodwater inundating many colonies.

It was concluded that November 2015 flood was caused by encroachments of lands of water bodies with the backing of political leaders and their associates. Though officials now claim that all the canals have been cleaned for a free flow of water, in reality there has been no improvement in the situation.

In 2015, the rain havoc continued for 20 days in three spells in the entire district and a major breach on the national highway at Manubolu gave severe trouble for movement of the vehicles for 3-4 days till temporary restoration works were taken up. Around 500 minor irrigation tanks were damaged and 460 villages were submerged in floodwater. The deluge caused huge crop loss in the district.

The reason for flash floods in the city was encroachments of 13 irrigation canals such as Uyyalakalava, Jafarsaheb kalava, Sarvepalli kalava which were used in the olden days as natural outlets for excess floodwater. YSRCP which was in opposition then demanded relocation of people who occupied the canals. But the TDP government failed to address the problem properly due to political reasons.

"The important irrigation canals were encroached by people in the city as there was no stringent action against the violators from the municipal authorities. All canals and water passage systems have witnessed illegal shops, shopping complexes, small hotels, and many other structures. The canals having a width of 20 to 30 feet earlier for carrying stormwater from the city have now shrunk to 3 to 5 feet as a result of illegal constructions," said a retired official of the revenue department. It is happy that the district collector KVN Chakradhar Babu announced recently that they would clear all these encroachments shortly for avoiding floods, he added.

Further, on Sunday, Gudur, Bogole, Manubolu, Chillakuru, Sydapuram, Venkatagiri, Naidupet, Sangam, Pellakur, Vidavalur, Dagadarthi, Venkatachalam, Kavali, Ozili, Atmakur, Kodavaluru, and Nellore city received rainfall since the early hours. The highest rainfall of 12 cm recorded in Gudur, 8.3 cm in Bogole and Manubolu, 7.3 cm in Chillakur, and 6.2 cm at Sydapuram and 5.5 cm in Venkatagiri since morning hours on Sunday