Godavari crosses first warning level at Bhadrachalam, public alerted

The water level reached 43.60 feet at 8 pm with a discharge of 9, 60, 541 cusecs and forecast indicates further rise in the water level, said district Collector Jithesh V Patil.

Kothagudem: Officials have issued the first warning as river Godavari crossed the first warning level of 43 feet at Bhadrachalam in the district at 6.51 pm on Sunday.

The water level reached 43.60 feet at 8 pm with a discharge of 9, 60, 541 cusecs and forecast indicates further rise in the water level, said district Collector Jithesh V Patil. He advised the people living in flood affected villages on the banks of the river to move to the relief centres established by the district administration.

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Flood duty officers have started shifting the residents in the flood affected villages to relief centres in Cherla. SP B Rohith Raju advised the public not to come out unless it was an emergency as water bodies were overflowing. He cautioned people, especially youth, against taking selfies at rivers, tanks and streams as it could pose danger to their lives.

Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao along with Collector Patil, SP Rohith Raju and ITDA PO B Rahul inspected the breached Peddavagu project site and houses damaged due to breach in the project at Gummadavalli village. He assured the affected families that the government would extend all possible support to them.

Later, speaking to the media, the minister said the Peddavagu incident was sad and caused damage to property leaving the poor people to face troublesome situations. He lauded the district administration for taking immediate measures to prevent loss of life.

The government would do everything possible for all the farmers who were suffering due to the floods; also support the family of a villager Venu Murali who died due to electric shock while repairing damaged electric wiring at his house at Kothur.

Since Peddavagu belongs to AP and Telangana both the States allot funds to carry out repairs. By consulting the Andhra Pradesh government the project would be reconstructed with a better design to withstand heavy floods and three additional gates would be installed, the minister added.