With the Godavari river in spate due to incessant rains, water levels at Bhadrachalam dam touched 70 feet, for the first time in 30 years. The last time that water levels rose this high was in 1990. As per data available with the Central Water Commission, the highest that the river rose to was 75.6 feet amid devastating floods at the temple town in 1986.
The Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) said that at Dowleswaram in Andhra, which is downstream, an inflow of 20,08,821 cusecs was recorded on Friday, July 15. This is predicted to touch 22,000 cusecs by July 15, crossing the third level of flood warning at 17,000 cusecs. Kothagudem district authorities have also instructed the people to stay inside, with police imposing section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to prevent the movement of people. Vehicular movement has also been banned on the bridge since 5 pm on Thursday, July 14. With flood warnings in place, road transport between Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Chattisgarh have been affected.
Godavari river is witnessing large-scale floods due to heavy rains in parts of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Districts along the Godavari basin including Nizamabad, Nirmal, Mancherial, Peddapalli, Jayshankar Bhupalapall, Mulugu and Bhadradri Kothagudem are affected, with the floods cutting off access to areas and disrupting normal life.
The state government reached out to the Indian Army for rescue and relief assistance in the flooded Bhadradri Kothagudem district. As many as 101 Army officials, of whom 68 are from the Infantry, 10 are medical professionals and 23 are engineers, have been deployed to the area.
The state tourism department has also dispatched four special boats for rescue and relief operations, while the Fire Department has sent seven boats along with 210 life jackets and buoys to carry out the rescue operations.
While Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar is continuously monitoring the situation the state government has appointed Singareni Colleries Limited Managing Director (MD) Sridhar as Special Officer to monitor the relief measures in the district.
The government on Friday, July 15, issued orders for the Collectors of three neighbouring districts — Khammam, Rangareddy and Suryapet — to make their way to Bhadradri Kothagudem and assist with rescue efforts.