Rajamahendravaram: Godavari floodwater recedes further
Many villages are still under floodwater forcing people to shift to safer places
Rajamahendravaram: Floodwater in river Godavari is receding from Tuesday afternoon as the inflows from its upstream were reduced and the first warning signal at Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage (SACB) at Dowleswaram, was withdrawn.
According to Irrigation department officials, 4,91,378 cusecs of floodwater was discharged into the sea from the barrage and the water level at the barrage stood at 7.40 feet by the evening.
Though the floodwater started receding, several tribal villages in the twin districts of Godavari located upstream of the Polavaram Irrigation project along the river course continued to remain marooned. The water levels at Bhadrachalam upstream of the Polavaram project are slowly coming down. According to sources, the road connectivity in 32 villages in Velerupadu mandal of West Godavari district remained cut off and the power connectivity was yet to be restored in Pusugondi, Koida, Kalacharam, Kunkudukayalapakalu, Siddhantam, Tallagondi, Tekupalli and other villages with the electrical poles at some of the places still lying under water.
According to officials, out of 3,328 displaced families of 19 villages in Polavaram mandal of West Godavari district, 1,700 were shifted to temporary shelters. More than 150 island villages in East and West Godavari districts mainly in Konaseema area and tribal habitations in Devipatnam are still in floodwater. People living in Chintur, Kunavaram, VR Puram and Yetapaka mandals are also facing submergence and it is likely to take three more days to return to normalcy. Due to the floodwater, people are power out in Devipatanam mandal and marooned island villages in Konaseema.
Meanwhile, the people living in 44 villages including of Devipatnam mandal have moved out from their villages on their own hired houses or hillock and R & R colonies. Some families at P Gonduru village and Kondamodualu are refusing to vacate. They said that they would evacuate only after receiving the Resettlement & Rehabilitation (R&R) packages.