Efforts on to plug breaches to Rayala Cheruvu: Minister Ramachandra Reddy

Tirupati Hectic efforts are continuing at Rayala Cheruvu to strengthen the bund, where a leakage was found while senior officials are camping at the historic tank, keeping a close watch on the tank brimming with water. The leakage came to light after a dent on the slopes of bund due to erosion caused by the welling water on Sunday alerted the authorities including special officer P S Pradyumna, District Collector M Hari Narayanan, SP Ch Venkata Appala Naidu, Irrigation officials hurriedly reaching the tank and taking measure to plug the leakage, strengthen the bund and also accelerating the release of water from the tank by making a ditch on the far end of the tank on the southern side as part of steps to check any breach to tank which was full with 0.9 TMC water against its actual storage capacity of 0.6.

Chandragiri MLA Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy joined with the officials later in the evening and camped at the tank site throughout the night overseeing the measures to stop breaching of the tank. Meanwhile Panchayat Raj Minister P Ramachandra Reddy along with experts from IIT inspected the tank. Reddy said that the inflow was found much more than the outflow and the authorities as per the expert opinion stepped up efforts to increase the outflow to 6,000 cusecs to safeguard the tank. He also discussed the outflow of tank from Kuppambaduru side of the tank and lauded the people from surrounding villages, who helped the authorities to keep ready 30,000 sand bags within a short time and exuded confidence that the situation will come under control in a day or two.

The minister said he will tour the rain-hit areas for two days after which will have a detailed discussion with district authorities for submitting a report to the chief minister on the extensive damages suffered by the district due to the unprecedented heavy rains resulting in flash flood, inundating villages, affecting large number of people in the district.

Earlier, Reddy visited Papanaidupet in Yerpedu mandal where the Gudimallam bridge across Swarnamukhi river swept away and damaged crops in Srikalahasthi constituency, along with local MLA Madhusudhan Reddy.

After visiting Rayala Cheruvu, the minister visited the affected areas in Puthalapattu constituency. Police stopped vehicular movement on the road passing near the tank and also cordoned off the entire tank area so as to not allow anyone as a safety measure and also ensure strengthening works go on with no hindrance.

The evacuation of the people from the villages notified by the authorities and moving them to the relief centres set up in Tirupati and other places are going on in full-swing. Senior revenue officials were supervising the shifting people to safer places and also providing food and other arrangements to the people in the relief centres.