Godavari still in spate, bus services to tribal heartland remains crippled

BHADRADRI KOTHAGUDEM/JAYASHANKAR BHUPALPALLY

The swollen Godavari continued to flow nearly one foot above the danger mark (third flood warning level) of 53 feet at Bhadrachalam on Wednesday evening following steady inflows from the catchment areas of its tributaries, including Indravati and Pranahita, prompting the official machinery to remain on high alert in Bhadrachalam Agency to meet any exigency.

The water level in the Godavari hovered above the danger mark throughout the day, oscillating between 54.30 ft and 54.60 ft, with about 14.97 lakh cusecs flow in the river recorded at 6 p.m.

Dozens of vehicles bound for Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh were stranded on the outskirts of Bhadrachalam due to flooding of a portion of the National Highway 30 near Nellipaka in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, sources said.

The TSRTC bus services between Bhadrachalam and parts of Telangana’s tribal heartland spanning Dummugudem, Charla, Venkatapuram and Wazeedu mandals remained crippled due to overflowing of streams on various stretches of the main roads.

Sources said that all the major irrigation projects, including Sripada Yellampally project in Peddapalli district, Lakshmi (Medigadda) barrage in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district and others in the upstream Godavari basin, continued to receive copious inflows from the upper reaches due to heavy rains in parts of neighbouring Maharashtra. The inflows in Lakshmi barrage, which was around 9.89 lakh cusecs at 7 a.m. ,increased to 10.25 lakh at 6 p.m on Wednesday.

The pushkar ghats on the banks of the Godavari in Kaleshwaram, the famous pilgrim centre, in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district were submerged by the floodwaters.