Godavari continues to swell amid heavy rains

The water level in Godavari at the temple town of Bhadrachalam in Telangana’s Bhadradri Kothagudem district reached 51 metres by Tuesday evening, crossing the second warning level of 48 feet in the morning. The water level is expected to rise further and may reach the 55 feet mark by Wednesday morning.

Godavari continues to swell due to heavy inflows into the river because of heavy rains in the catchment areas and huge inflows into its tributaries upstream, resulting in inundation of several villages along the river course.

Godavari continues to swell due to heavy inflows into the river because of heavy rains in the catchment areas and huge inflows into its tributaries upstream, resulting in inundation of several villages along the river course. (ANI File)

The water level in Godavari at the temple town of Bhadrachalam in Telangana’s Bhadradri Kothagudem district reached 51 metres by Tuesday evening, crossing the second warning level of 48 feet in the morning. The water level is expected to rise further and may reach the 55 feet mark by Wednesday morning.

The steady rise in the water levels of Godavari, the third time in the last two months, resulted in inundation of many villages cutting off transportation to these villages. A bridge at Turubaka village in Dummugudem mandal has been inundated with flood waters.

Vehicular traffic came to a halt on the national highway between Bhadrachalam and Vekatapuram, Bairagulapadu to Sunnam Batti villages as the flood waters inundated the roads connecting the villages. State-run Road Transport Corporation suspended bus services to the villages along this route.

Telangana transport minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar, who reviewed the situation with district collector Anudeep Durishetty, directed the district and mandal level officials to be alert and take measures to avoid loss of life and property. He asked them to shift the people in flood affected villages to relief centres.

Northern Telangana, which was receiving heavy rainfall in the last three days, had some respite on Tuesday. The highest rainfall witnessed in the state was 43.2 mm at Kagaznagar in Kumaram Bheem district, followed by 22 mm of Sarangapur and 19.5 mm at Bhainsa in Nirmal district and 19.4 mm at Mominpet in Vikarabad district.