Incessant flooding in Karnataka and Maharashtra has kept Andhra Pradesh capital Vijayawada on edge. Krishna river, which originates in Maharashtra, and flows through Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, before flowing into the Bay of Bengal, is surging aggressively. On Wednesday morning, water levels in Prakasham barrage, constructed on Krishna river and located in the heart of Vijayawada, exceeded its full capacity. Government officials and local residents were on high alert due to the prevailing situation. Around 70 gates were lifted at Prakasham barrage, allowing discharge of more than four lakh cu. of water. At one point, the inflow was 4.5 lakh cu and the outflow was 4.4 Cu.
The Krishna district officials partially evacuated dozens of villages downstream to the river and also asked residents living in low-lying areas in Vijayawada town to shift to safe places. The situation is being directly monitored by state ministers, who also visited the barrage.
According to Krishna district collector M.D. Imtiyaz, the level of preparedness is high. More than 80 fire services personnel and two teams, comprising 30 in each team, of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been on standby, he said.
The collector said that they were expecting the water levels to be under control since the water levels were receding in the upstream parts of the Western Ghats.
In ten years, this is the first time that water level peaked in Prakasham barrage during monsoon, triggering the panic button.
In Undavalli village, former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s residence, situated on the banks of Krishna river, faced flood threat. Furniture and other household items were shifted from the ground floor to the first floor. Naidu and his family shifted to Hyderabad, expecting flooding inside their house. Large quantities of sand was also brought to the leader of opposition’s house to make sure that water did not enter the property. Even the protocol cars were shifted to another location.
