ISKCON Godavari Temple Under Water

BY: STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Aug 8, HYDERABAD, INDIA (THE HINDU) — Over 3 lakh affected as Godavari tributaries breach embankments.

Over three lakh people were affected as River Godavari's tributaries Gawtami and Vashita breached embankments, even as the level in the river was 13.7 feet above the third danger level mark of 52 feet in the temple town of Bhadrachalam on Monday.

Reviewing the flood situation at a high-level meeting, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy appointed three senior officers to oversee relief and rehabilitation in the districts of Khammam, East And West Godavari Districts as large tracts of land were inundated with flood water.

Two helicopters were pressed into service to drop food packets and water sachets to the people of the marooned villages, as the right bank of River Gowthami breached embankments at Sanepallilanka and left bank of Vasishta at Mondilanka, Diaster Management Commissioner Debabratha Kanta told UNI.

Traffic came to a standstill on the Highway between Mumidavaram and Amalapuram in the worst-hit Konaseema region.

About 28.50 lakh cusecs of water was discharged into sea from the Dowleswaram Barrage, as over 3.5 lakh cusecs was realised at the Sriramsagar Project in the upper Godavari with heavy inflows from Maharashtra and its various rivers including Sabari, which were in spate, Irrigation officials said.

A Krishna temple constructed by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and slated for inauguration by the Chief Minister on August nine, was submerged, a report from Rajahmundry said.

Meanwhile, a report from Rajamundry quoting official sources said the Chief Minister would make an aerial survey of the marooned villages in the Konaseema region later in the day, where over three lakh people in Ayinavilli, Mummidivaram, Malkipuram, P Gannavaram, Rajole and Maikudur Mandals had been affected.

Two more helicopters from the Navy and one from the ONGC were requisitioned to reach out to the affected people. Both Ayinavalli and Mumidivaram were sumerged in flood water.

In all 50,000 food packets, 2500 litre of milk and one lakh water sachets were airdropped by choppers. As many as 21 relief camps had been set up in six places in the affected mandals and medical teams despatched to attend to people and animals in distress.

See previous Sun article on opening of the ISKCON Godavari temple.