The villagers of Shivaru Venkatapur in Murkook mandal were caught by surprise in the wee hours of Tuesday, when a canal that carries water from Kondapochammasagar reservoir to Gandhamalla in Yadadri-Bhongir district breached inundating the village.
The videos of Godavari water flooding the streets and houses posted by villagers went viral in social media. “Water entered our house at about 6.30 a.m. All our household articles and stocks were completely damaged and we don’t know what to do. Luckily we were all awake by that time and so nothing happened to us. What could have been the situation had it taken place at midnight?” a woman from the village told media persons. Some farmers claimed that their fields were submerged in the water and damaged.
“There was no damage to houses except two houses where water entered. The officials immediately responded and stopped water release. Everything was cleared within few hours,” said T. Kanakaiah, MPTC and native the village.
As a precautionary measure the police and revenue officials rushed to the village to review the situation. The reason for the breach was not known and repeated efforts to contact officials failed.
The water was reportedly released to the canal on June 24. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had released Godavari water from Murkook pump house into Kondapochammasagar on May 29 along with Tridandi Chinna Jeeyar Swamy.
Soon after that, as per instructions from the Chief Minister water was pumped into the reservoir and on June 24 the water was also released into Gandhamalla reservoir. Due to heavy rain late on Monday night more water reached the canal resulting in the breach, said Mr. Kanakaiah.
However, doubts are being raised about the quality of works. A team of BJP leaders led by former Lok Sabha member Vivek, former Minister Vijaya Rama Rao and M Raghuandana Rao visited the village and interacted with farmers. They have alleged that the quality of works were not up to the mark and submergence threat always looms on the villages along the side of canals. They have demanded an inquiry on the incident.
