Telangana: Heavy inflows into Godavari projects, gates lifted to manage floodwaters

Godavari projects witnessed massive inflows on Thursday, forcing officials to lift gates at Sripada Yellampalli, SRSP, Kaddam and Taliperu reservoirs. The river level at Bhadrachalam touched 37 feet, with authorities anticipating it may soon cross the first flood warning mark

Hyderabad: After nearly a fortnight of declining water levels, the Godavari River projects are once again witnessing heavy inflows, raising fresh flood concerns. The surge is attributed to upstream rains, inflows from tributaries, and releases from major irrigation projects, prompting officials to step up monitoring and precautionary measures.

The Sripada Yellampalli Project is receiving massive inflows of 7,30,924 cusecs, including 3,01,000 cusecs from the Sri Ram Sagar Project (SRSP), 40,128 cusecs from the Kaddam Narayana Reddy Project, and 3,95,716 cusecs from its own catchment area. To regulate the flow, authorities lifted 40 of the project’s 62 gates, releasing 8,20,982 cusecs downstream.

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At the Sri Ram Sagar Project, the water level stood at 1087.20 feet, against a full reservoir level (FRL) of 1091 feet, with 67.057 TMC of water stored out of a total capacity of 80.5 TMC. The project is receiving 2,00,000 cusecs and discharging 2,76,567 cusecs, including 2,50,000 cusecs through 39 spillway gates, 17,300 cusecs via the Integrated Flood Flow Canal (IFFC), 8,000 cusecs through escape gates, and 400 cusecs via the Saraswati Canal.

The Kaddam Narayana Reddy Project is receiving more than 26,097 cusecs, with heavy discharges continuing to swell the Godavari. The Taliperu Reservoir in Charla mandal of Bhadradri Kothagudem district, which draws inflows from the Bastar region in Chhattisgarh, has also opened 24 gates, releasing 57,000 cusecs into the Godavari River.

As a result, the water level at Bhadrachalam has risen to 37 feet, up significantly from earlier in the week. Officials expect the river to reach or cross the first flood warning level of 43 feet soon, given the continuing heavy inflows from tributaries such as the Pranahita and Indravati.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a low-pressure area over central Chhattisgarh on August 28 triggered heavy rainfall in upstream catchments across Telangana and Maharashtra. This is expected to sustain or further increase inflows into the Godavari and its tributaries in the coming days.