With the Krishna river in Andhra Pradesh set to receive heavy inflows from the Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar dams, authorities have advised people residing in low-lying and flood-prone areas to be on alert. People have been asked to move their fishing boats and cattle to safety beforehand, and revenue officials have been asked to keep ration ready to provide flood relief. Krishna District Collector J Nivas visited the flood-prone area of Bhupesh Gupta Nagar in Vijayawada on Saturday, July 31. Around 5.58 lakh cusecs of water was being discharged from Srisailam, the Collector said. With Nagarjuna Sagar likely to fill up by August 1, Sunday morning, around 5 lakh cusecs of water was likely to be released to the Pulichintala project, which is already filled to capacity, he added.
As of Sunday noon, the water level in Pulichintala was at 42.82 tmc (thousand million cubic feet), while its Full Reservoir Level (FRL) capacity is 45.77 tmc. The discharge from the Pulichintala project stood at around 38,000 cusecs, while inflows into Nagarjuna Sagar were around 4 to 4.5 lakh cusecs. According to the Pulichintala Superintending Engineer (SE), Nagarjuna Sagar dam authorities will discharge surplus water to Pulichintala by Sunday evening, as Nagarjuna Sagar dam would attain FRL (Full Reservoir Level) status by midnight on Sunday. While initially, floodwater discharge may be around 2 lakh cusecs, it would be increased to around 4.5 to 5 lakh cusecs by Monday morning, authorities said, instructing residents on the Krishna river bank downstream of Pulichintala to be on alert.
Heavy rains in the river catchment area in Maharashtra and Karnataka have resulted in heavy inflows. With Pulichintala already at capacity, the water is being released towards Prakasam barrage near Vijayawada. As of Sunday afternoon, the Prakasam barrage was at its FRL capacity of 3.07 tmc, with inflows and outflows at 35,526 cusecs. Around 15 mandals between Jaggaiahpet and Nagayalanka have been placed under flood alert, with the tahsildars asked to take measures for flood preparedness and ensure flood-related information reaches residents.
Once water is released from the Prakasam barrage, it is likely to reach residential areas through five flood canals, Collector J Nivas said, instructing irrigation officials to make arrangements to obstruct the flood water with cement and sandbags. Officials have also been asked to keep motors ready to pump out the floodwater.