The flood situation in the Krishna continued to be grim with several areas in Guntur and Krishna districts remaining under water on Saturday too with outflow from Srisailam dam remaining constant at 4.44 lakh cusecs. The outflow from Nagarjunasagar continued at 3.55 lakh till 5 p.m. on Saturday inundating villages in 13 mandals of Guntur district and five colonies in Vijayawada city.
Irrigation officials told The Hindu that inflow and outflow at Prakasam Barrage was being maintained at 4.11 lakh cusecs throughout the day with submerged localities remaining under water and more than 2,000 families taking shelter in rehabilitation centres. At Sagar, the 584.9 feet level was being maintained and at Prakasam Barrage it was 12.06 feet and at Pulichintala the level came down to 41.57 metres by evening.
Traffic disrupted
Vehicular traffic to several villages in Bellamkonda and Atchempeta mandals was disrupted as flood water flowed on the roads. People in the vulnerable areas were shifted to safe places as a precautionary measure. An alternative route was being laid through the forest to temporarily restore transportation to and from Pulichintala village which was completely cut off for the past four days.
Crops in hundreds of acres were inundated and loss was being estimated, District Collector V.N. Vishnu said and added that a constant watch was being kept on the flood situation by 14 special officers along the river from Nagarjunasagar to Bay of Bengal confluence point in Repalle.
Municipal Commissioner G. Ravi Babu said that many more families preferred to stay put on the bund near Tarakarama Nagar where flood waters had entered. Repeated appeals were being made to them to shift to rehabilitation centres, but they did not budge. The water inflow into Nagarjunasagar was receding and at 7 p.m. it stood at 3.49 lakh cusecs and the outflow was just 2.70 lakh cusecs, according to NS Dam Superintendent Engineer
This reduced the danger to areas in Guntur district along the river and at the Prakasam Barrage too inflows were likely to decrease by midnight, the Municipal Commissioner said.
