In what is believed to be the result of carelessness, a 34-year-old tribal woman was washed away in the Thatipudi reservoir in the Gantyada mandal. A head constable was also killed when he fell into the water during the search operation.
The woman, Gammela Thademma, was washing clothes when water gushed out of the fourth floodgate of the reservoir. The incident occurred between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. NDRF team and fire safety personnel launched a search for Thademma.
Head constable Bonu Simhachalam went down an old bridge with the help of a rope. He slipped into the swirling waters. His body was retrieved and taken to the Jami government hospital. He is survived by wife and two sons.
900 cusecs gush out
Collector Vivek Yadav, who visited Thatipudi in the afternoon, said the tragedy was the result of “human error”. He said compensation would be paid to the bereaved tribal family as per the government norms. He ordered an inquiry into the incident. Officials suspect that an unidentified person pressed the button which led to the lifting of one of the four floodgates.
Farmland submerged
The gate went up by 3 metres, resulting in 900 cusecs of water gushing down and submerging huge tracts of farmland in Gantyada, S. Kota, and Jami mandals. Officials alerted villagers downstream in the three mandals, and in the Bhimili and Padmanabham mandals in Visakhapatnam.
Gajapathinagaram MLA Kondapalli Appala Naidu, who visited the spot, blamed officials of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation and the irrigation department for neglecting the maintenance of the reservoir, particularly after Cyclone Hudhud hit the region.
