Wielding a lathi in one hand, one of the many police officers deployed at Nagarjuna Sagar dam, along Telangana and Andhra Pradesh border, was seen signalling people to leave the place, on Sunday. As the siren from his bike was blaring, he reminded the people gathered there that prohibitory order under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) was in place and hence people were not allowed to gather in large numbers. As the police personnel insisted people to leave, many were seen frantically trying to capture a quick selfie at the viewpoint. “We travelled so far, please allow us to at least take a quick photo before we leave,” a man could be heard retorting.
Ever since the crest gates of the Nagarjuna Sagar dam were opened, owing to heavy inflow of water, thousands of people have been visiting the project. On Sunday, out of the 26 crest gates, 14 were open. However, keeping the safety of people in mind during the pandemic, the police, on August 21, decided to impose section 144, to discourage people from visiting the place. Unaware of this development, a lot of people continue to visit the dam, hoping to witness the beautiful sight of water flowing down the open shutters of the dam.
Presently, the entire area around the dam premises is barricaded at several parts and police personnel from both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have been deployed in large numbers to not allow people to venture near the dam or crowd at the viewpoints. Police personnel can be seen patrolling the area, using loudspeakers to announce and remind people that section 144 has been imposed, which prohibits the gathering of five or more people.
Located around 150 kilometres from Hyderabad, the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is a popular weekend getaway for people from the city. Whenever the crest gates are opened, the dam soon transforms into a tourist hub, with people from both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana thronging to see the gushing water.
Speaking to TNM, Vijayapura South Sub Inspector said, “It was the Telangana police that first imposed section 144, following which we also imposed the same on August 21. The present order says the restrictions will be in place until August 27. Around 100 police personnel from the Andhra police have been deployed here to keep the situation under control.”
Vijayapura North Sub Inspector, Ravinder said the restrictions are likely to be in place until the gates are closed. He said, “A very large number of people came to the dam on the weekend. When we request them and remind them about the restrictions, they leave. They have been largely cooperating with the police. Around 50 policemen from the Nalgonda police have been deployed here, including senior officers.”
According to the police, a lot of people are unaware of the restrictions in place at the dam. On the Andhra Pradesh side, a check-post has been set up and apart from emergency vehicles, no vehicles are being allowed to travel towards the dam. All tourists who are presently landing there are coming from the Telangana side.
Read: 14 crest gates of the Nagarjuna Sagar dam in Telangana opened due to strong inflows