Heavy flood flows grip Godavari, Krishna basins; administration on alert

Flood forecast indicates further rise in water levels over the next 48 hours due to widespread rainfall in the catchment areas spanning Telangana, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Odisha

Hyderabad: The Godavari and Krishna river basins are surging with rising flood flows consequent to relentless rainfall across their catchment areas. Administration in the districts concerned have initiated precautionary measures and are closely monitoring the rising water levels.

In the Godavari basin, Pranahita river, a major tributary, is in spate. It was contributing over 6.65 lakh cusecs of floodwater to the main Godavari on Thursday. According to Irrigation officials, the flood forecast indicates a further rise in water levels over the next 48 hours due to widespread rainfall in the catchment areas spanning Maharashtra, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. All gates of the Medigadda barrage have been kept open to release the massive flood flows.

---

Some 40 kilometres downstream, the Indravati river is also contributing substantial flood flows. At Perur and Bhadrachalam, flood levels are steadily rising. At Bhadrachalam, the Godavari is currently flowing close to 25 feet with the flood flows being in the range of 3 lakh cusecs by 8 pm on Thursday, but far below the danger level. The flood level may reach the first warning levels of 48 feet at the temple town before receding. However, officials remain vigilant as the Sabari river, with its catchment in Chhattisgarh and Odisha, is experiencing moderate flooding, and other forest streams like Taliperu in Telangana are swelling steadily. Flood monitoring officials have launched precautionary measures, including issuing alerts to low-lying areas.

In contrast, the upper Godavari in Maharashtra is yet to experience monsoon floods. The Jaikwadi project, a major dam in the region, is receiving a modest inflow of 45,580 cusecs. Similarly, inflows into the Sriramsagar and Sripada Yellampalli projects in Telangana remain minimal, recorded at 6,100 cusecs and 854 cusecs, respectively.

In the Krishna basin, heavy inflows are being recorded across major reservoirs. The Nagarjuna Sagar dam is receiving 1.19 lakh cusecs, with its current storage at 190 TMC against a gross capacity of 312 TMC. Upstream, the Srisailam reservoir is witnessing inflows of 2.12 lakh cusecs, while the Priyadarshini Jurala project is handling 1.24 lakh cusecs, with outflows matching the inflows to manage the flood surge.

In Karnataka, the Almatti and Narayanpur dams are experiencing consistent inflows of over 1.16 lakh cusecs and 1.06 lakh cusecs respectively, driven by heavy rainfall in the upper Krishna basin. The CWC has warned of further escalation in flood levels across both river basins in the coming days, as upstream rainfall continues in Karnataka and Maharashtra. Irrigation officials are closely monitoring reservoir levels and coordinating controlled releases to mitigate downstream flooding.