CYCLONE EFFECT: Vehicles manoeuvring through water-logged roads in rain-hit Prakasam district on Saturday

ONGOLE: The cyclone moved on but misery still lingers at Prakasam district. Heavy discharge of water from Rallapadu project is wreaking havoc in Ulavapadu mandal where about 30 villages were marooned since last night. Chennai-Kolkata National Highway No. 5 was submerged disrupting traffic on the four-lane road for several hours on Saturday.

Collector's plight

District Collector B. Udaya Lakshmi who visited the affected areas spoke to the Relief Commissioner and sought helicopters for air-dropping of food packets in the marooned villages. As the NH was flooded, the Collector had to abandon her vehicle and board a bus to cross the bridge across Munneru to reach the affected villages. Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on the NH for more than 12 hours.

Rallapadu is a medium irrigation project constructed across Munneru to provide irrigation facility to 20,000 acres. Heavy rain in the catchment area in the wake of cyclonic storm of October 27-28 and sudden discharge of water from the upstream Gandipalem reservoir in Nellore district, swelled the inflows to 2.8 lakh cusecs at Rallapadu.

14 gates opened

Officials lifted all the 14 gates of Rallapadu on Friday and released nearly 11 tmc ft of water in a day. The gushing waters submerged 11 out of total 12 villages in Ulavapadu mandal by 9 pm. People who had heard about the lifting of gates over radio at 7 pm found themselves in 5-6 feet water by 9 pm. They had to rush for safety deserting their homes.

In Kollurpadu villages, about 300 houses were submerged. Officials could not reach the village. Women refused to leave the village as the memory of 12 people drowning while trying to reach the mainland in a similar situation in 1994 is still fresh.

Relocation

Catamarans were pressed into service to supply food packets. Kandukur MLA M. Mahidhar Reddy felt that relocation of the village was the only solution from the problem of submergence due to floodwaters from Rallapadu. But the inhabitants refuse to move on the plea that they would lose jobs and lands. They demand that the Government provide pucca houses for them.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail