Penna River in spate in Nellore
A road at Venkateswara Puram area submerged with floodwaters in Nellore on Sunday
Nellore: With huge inflows of 1.10 lakh cusecs receiving from the upper catchment areas of Rayalaseema region, the Penna river is in spate in the district and the officials are releasing 1.35 lakh cusecs of water for managing the inflows. Many villages and colonies close to the riverbank were facing the threat of floods.
The officials of Somasila reservoir lifted all crest gates to release water after filling it up to 76 tmc ft against its storage capacity of 78-tmc-feet as part of precautionary measure.
The situation is alarming in many villages close to the river. Officials are also releasing water to the Kandaleru reservoir which has also been filled up to the level of 40 tmc feet against its FRL of 68 tmc feet. Irrigation and Telugu Ganga project officials are keenly monitoring the flood situation in the entire district.
Many villages close to the river are getting floodwater due to huge outflow from the Somasila reservoir. Veerlagudi Padu in Sangam mandal has been submerged in floodwaters and officials are shifting the people in low-lying areas to the safer places.
District Collector K V N Chakradhar Babu visited the villages and observed the conditions. Further, fire and police teams rescued 48 persons from Pullaneellapalli and Mamuduru areas in Chejarla mandal, who stranded in the river due to the sudden flow of water.
In Nellore city, colonies close to the river, were also inundated with floodwaters from Saturday night. People of Venkateswara Puram, Janardhan Reddy Colony, Islam Pet, and others were spending sleepless nights due to flood warnings from the officials. Many villages in Nellore rural were also submerged in floodwaters. And the district administration started a command control room for reviewing the situation.
Municipal Commissioner K Dinesh Kumar visited a few colonies on Sunday and discussed with the authorities on measures to be taken for shifting the families from the vulnerable areas. Officials evacuated people from Lalitha Nagar and others located at Porlukatta.