Work on the construction of the Polavaram irrigation project has been stopped as the Godavari, Sabari, and Sileru rivers continue to be in spate in the Godavari region in Andhra Pradesh.
The Sabari and Sileru rivers join at Chintoor in Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) district before joining the Godavari at V.R. Puram. Consequently, the Polavaram irrigation project receives flood water from the three rivers.
Meanwhile, the second flood warning continued to be in force both at Bhadrachalam in Telangana (where the water level stood at 51.80 feet) and Dowleswaram in Andhra Pradesh on July 28 (Friday).
As the inflows were more than 12 lakh cusecs at the Polavaram irrigation project, the Irrigation authorities were forced to put on hold the construction activity at the project site. Work on filling the diaphragm wall area was affected as a result.
“There is no impact of the floods on the works pertaining to the hydropower project at the Polavaram project site,” the officials said.
Meanwhile, 2,744 families had been evacuated from the 31 affected tribal habitations in Eluru district so far.
“The evacuation operation has been intensified by using boats in the flood-hit areas. As many as 119 pregnant women have been evacuated,” Eluru district Joint Collector B. Lavanya Veni told The Hindu.
“Scores of affected tribal people have shifted to the nearby hilltop areas in view of the floods. They are likely to stay put there until the floods recede in the Agency areas. We are supplying them oil, red gram, and vegetables,’ Ms. Lavanya Veni said.
In the Chintoor Agency in ASR district, the officials were supplying one litre of milk per family in the villages and relief camps.
In a videoconference convened by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Konaseema District Collector Himanshu Shukla said that 250 boats were kept ready for evacuation operation at 65 points along the banks of the Godavari. He said 98 pregnant women had been evacuated from the affected areas and islands.
