Kurnool and Kadapa districts, which reeled under severe drought conditions and faced acute scarcity of drinking water since the beginning of the year, are now grappling with a flood-like situation with all the rivers and streams in spate and all the reservoirs, including Srisailam, brimming with water owing to heavy rainfall in the last fortnight.
An unprecedented heavy rainfall coupled with heavy inflows into the reservoirs led to availability of ample water in both the districts. The storage in Srisailam reservoir reached the full reservoir level of 885 feet after a gap of three years, and water was released to Nagarjunasagar. The Gajuladinne, Velogodu, Sunkesula and Owk reservoirs were filled owing to heavy inflows. Water was released from the Owk reservoir to Gandikota and Mylavaram reservoirs in Kadapa district downstream. All the streams across Kurnool district are in spate, marooning some villages.
With ample water available, officials assured to supply adequate water to the standing crops, including paddy, in the kharif season. The flashflood in Handri river led to inundation of several low-lying areas such as Budhawarapet, Ashoknagar, Mubaraknagar, Joharapuram and Bapujinagar and water-logging of the bus stand road near Anand Cine Complex in Kurnool city.
A flood protection wall along the Tungabhadra and Handri rivers and Suddavagu costing ₹36 crore mooted in 2009, after extensive flooding of Kurnool city, to protect inundation of the city remained on paper. Encroachment of the river beds and lack of desilting of the canals and clearing wild growth in them were leading to spilling of the river water into the city. The demand for a second summer storage tank in Kurnool too remained unfulfilled.
Flashfloods
Heavy rainfall in several parts of Kadapa district led to flashfloods and inundation of several areas in the district. The Pennar, Papaghni, Kundu, Cheyyeru, Bahuda, Sagileru and Mandvya rivers have been in spate and overflowing streams led to washing away of a few causeways in the district, including in Kadapa city. The Buggavanka and Annamayya reservoirs were filled and Gandikota, Mylavaram and Brahmamsagar reservoirs and KC Canal are getting good inflows.
Several low-lying areas such as Mrutyunjayakunta, Ravindranagar, RTC bus stand, Aravindanagar and old bus stand in Kadapa city were marooned, owing to non-desilting and non-clearance of bushes in Buggavanka stream. A flood protection wall along the Buggavanka stream course to protect Kadapa city from flooding, after the deluge in 2001, remained incomplete and an underground drainage system sanctioned years ago is yet to be operational.
Though farmers were earlier advised to cultivate irrigable dry crops and not paddy, officials have assured supply of water for the late kharif paddy crop. The flashfloods have damaged chilli, cotton and commercial crops in Kurnool and Kadapa districts, and farmers are awaiting assessment of crop losses and sanction of compensation, while preparing to sow another round of crop.
