With the floodwaters receding slowly, the officers are focussing on aspects such as sanitation, restoration of power supply, and provision of medical aid to the people in the affected habitations.
However, a few island villages and areas along the banks of the Godavari continued to be under a sheet of water for the ninth day on Wednesday.
About 42 habitations in Eluru district and eight in West Godavari district were still in the grip of floodwaters. The flood-hit were being supplied food and medicines with the help of boats.
More than 1,000 sanitation workers had been engaged to clean the water tanks and roads and about 200 supervisors and health officers were monitoring the restoration works in Eluru and West Godavari districts.
“Floodwater is stagnated up to a height of about two to three feet in the island villages such as Ayodhya Lanka, Pedda Lanka and Kanaya Lanka, Peddamallam and a few areas in Narsapuram. Personnel have been instructed to supply food, drinking water and medicines to the victims through country-made boats,” said West Godavari district Collector P. Prasanthi.
“The floodwaters have receded in about 25 out of 31 island villages and a few habitations along the river’s banks. We expect that the water will completely recede by Thursday,” Ms. Prasanthi told The Hindu.
Eluru district Special Officer K. Bhaskar, who toured the flood-hit villages and monitored the sanitation works, said about 500 workers were deployed to clean up the mess in Velerupadu and Kukunur mandals.
‘Aid disbursed’
“Financial aid of ₹2,000 has been disbursed to the flood-hit people in the habitations such as Buruguvai, Jagannadhapuram, Dacharam, Gommugudem, Nallakunta, Sitanagaram, and Siddaram in the Agency area,” Polavaram MLA T. Balaraju said.
Eluru District Panchayat Officer N. Balaji said more that 1,000 bags containing bleaching powder and 3,200 bags containing lime were arranged for cleaning the water tanks and spraying in the colonies.
District Collector V. Prasanna Venkatesh said that Joint Collector P. Arun Babu, ZP Chief Executive Officer Ravi Kumar, Jangareddygudem RDO Jhansi Rani, DRDA Project Director K. Srinivas, Eluru RDO K. Penchala Kishore, Social Welfare Joint Director Madhusudhan Rao, Housing Project Director Venugopal and other officers were monitoring the sanitation works in Polavaram, Velerupadu and Kukunur mandals.
Power supply
“There are about 76 electric poles in the affected habitations, and almost all have been inundated. Power supply has been restored in 91 habitations, and efforts are being made to supply power to the remaining areas,” the Collector said.
Doctors were instructed to treat patients at the medical and relief camps and in the villages, and supply medicines to the needy, Mr. Venkatesh said.
Medical help
Ms. Prasanthi said that doctors and para-medical staff deployed in the affected areas would make door-to-door visits and treat the patients. Medical officers would also supply zinc syrup and tablets to children to prevent outbreak of diarrhoea and fevers.
“The relief camps and medical camps will continue till the situation returns to normal in the affected habitations. The financial aid announced by the government has been credited to the bank accounts of the villagers in all the flood-hit villages,” the Collector said.
