Speakers at a webinar organised on the topic ‘Recent Cyclone havoc in Tirupati: Problems and solutions’ organised by the Academy of Grassroots Studies and Research of India (AGRASRI) sought that a study be conducted by experts from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and a solution devised to keep the temple city safe from floods.
Representatives cutting across political parties said it was the need of the hour to remove encroachments on water bodies and desilt tank beds and feeeder channels to ensure smooth flow of water.
BJP core committee member K.Santha Reddy said there was a lack of foresight on the part of city planners in the narrowing of the Malavadigundam floodwater drain passing through the heart of the city. “This created a bottleneck and made water flood the low-lying areas,” she said.
CITU State vice-president Kandarapu Murali wanted the MCT, TUDA and irrigation wings to work in tandem in chalking out a plan of action, as frequent cyclones could pose a similar challenge in future. City Congress president Mangati Gopal Reddy, who is also the president of the Federation of Farmers Associations, expressed surprise at the reported conversion of the Thummalagunta irrigation tank into a playground, alleging that this was the reason behind the flooding of the western part of the city.
TDP’s Telugu Yuvatha constituency in-charge A. Ravi Naidu wanted focus on the safety of buildings, claiming that the rickety structures could collapse after suffering damage during the floods.
K. Bhochandra Reddy, MPTC member of A. Rangampet representing the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), blamed the engineers for ‘botching up’ the Kalyani dam operation that had led to the submergence of most areas. “The gates were not opened on time, could not be closed due to lack of power supply with no generator backup, thus allowing more outflow than required that made the Swarnamukhi river swell and break the Chiguruvada and Padipeta bridges,” he observed.
Indian Red Cross Society (Tirupati) chairman D. Venkateswarlu and AGRASRI Founder Director D. Sundar Ram suggested developing two water storage dams at the Tirumala foothills not only to prevent the flooding of the city, but also to conserve water to meet the city’s needs. They also advocated the need for another reservoir near Kalyani dam to catch the water flowing from the Talakona and adjoining forest areas.
