River Godavari is in spate at Bhadrachalam, threatening to flood the famous temple town near the junction of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
With incessant rains and heavy inflows from the upstream projects, the river level has risen to about 62.5 feet as of Thursday evening and according to Telangana Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar is expected to cross 70 feet on Friday.
The water flow was recorded as over 19 lakh cusecs.
The third level warning, issued at 53 feet, is in force. District authorities have as a precautionary measure closed the Bhadrachalam bridge for traffic for 48 hours, reportedly the first time since 1986 when the water level went up to 75.6 feet. The bridge connects Telangana with several areas of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
The locals and stranded pilgrims are having an anxious time as a further rise in water levels could result in the submergence of some areas.
Meanwhile, K Chandrasekhar Rao is preparing the official machinery especially in the Mulugu, Bhupalpally and Bhadrachalam districts to deal with the heavy discharge from upstream areas and the heavy to very heavy rains till Saturday, as the IMD has forecasted.
Seven NDRF teams have been deployed, three are in Bhadrachalam, and two each are in Mulugu and Bhupalpally.
19,071 people from low-lying areas were shifted to 223 special camps set up in the state. 6,318 of these people are from Bhadrachalam, 4,049 in Mulugu and 1,226 people in Bhupalpally.
The Godavari water flowing downstream into Andhra Pradesh's Polavaram and thereafter Dowleswaram has also put the Jaganmohan Reddy government on high alert. Several areas of the Godavari region are already inundated.
The chief minister would go on an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas on Friday.
Published 15 July 2022, 02:57 IST