The flood in the Godavari has directly affected nearly 50,000 people, mostly downstream of Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage, flooding over 3,800 houses in the East Godavari district by Tuesday.
Nearly 28,000 of those affected by the flood have been evacuated, while evacuation of the rest is progressing at a slow pace, owing to unfavourable conditions to operate boats in the flood waters.
Dozens of habitations near the branches of river Godavari — Vynateya, Vasistha and Vridha Gowthami — are under water and people in these villages are spending sleepless nights, waiting to be evacuated. As many as 158 villages have been affected, mostly in the Konaseema area.
According to an official release, at least 82 among the affected 158 habitations have been inundated and are mostly under water in East Godavari district.
Crop damage
Standing crops of banana and other horticulture crops in P. Gannavaram and Amalapuram in the Konaseema region have been under the water since Monday. The horticulture crops in over 3,822 hectares have been damaged due to the flood water.
The evacuation operation had come to a halt in many parts of Konaseema area owing to unfavourable conditions to run small boats due to heavy flood water and lack of evacuation measures. In the villages affected by Vridha Gowthami near Yanam, many families were seen arguing with the government staff on duty, appealing for timely evacuation.
Affected by Vriddha Gowthami at Muramalla village, Malladi Kumari and her family told The Hindu: “Our family has been spending hours on boats for the past one day. We want someone to rescue us as children can no longer spend time on the boats”.
In Yanam, the flood has inundated the entire beach road and entered the town.
East Godavari in-charge Minister D. Krishna Das and other officials on Tuesday promised sanctioning ₹2,000 as reelief to the each affected family.
