High alert sounded along the Krishna amid huge inflows from Pulichintala

Water Resources Department authorities have declared a high alert along the Krishna river. The low-lying areas in the five districts of Guntur, Palnadu, Bapatla, NTR, and Krishna have also been put on alert.

With massive inflows from the Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar reservoirs, the authorities released over 2.84 lakh cusecs of water from the Pulichintala Project on Wednesday evening by lifting 12 crest gates up to a height of 10 feet.

The Pulichintala Project, as of 6 p.m., received over 3.01 lakh cusecs, and 16,600 cusecs were diverted for power generation. The storage level at the project stood at 41.586 tmc ft as against its full capacity of 45.77 tmc ft.

The officials said that the crest level was being maintained at 175 feet, and future releases would be calibrated based on inflow trends.

In Vijayawada, the authorities lifted all the 70 crest gates at the Prakasam Barrage, releasing 71,000 cusecs of water downstream. Of these, 30 gates were lifted by two feet and the remaining 40 by one foot. Inflows into the barrage earlier peaked at 87,441 cusecs before slightly receding to 77,804 cusecs by the evening.

To ease pressure on the barrage, the officials diverted 10,207 cusecs into the Krishna Eastern Main Canal and 6,234 cusecs into the Western Main Canal.

In light of the rising water levels, NTR District Collector G Lakshmisha inspected the flood-prone areas along with Vijayawada Municipal Corporation Commissioner H.M. Dhyanachandra and senior irrigation officials.

Declaring a high alert, Mr.  Lakshmisha warned that inflows might rise up to 3 lakh cusecs in the next 48 hours.

“All vulnerable locations are being closely monitored by teams from the Irrigation, Revenue, Police, Panchayat Raj, and Municipal departments,” he said. A total of 43 flood-prone areas in Vijayawada had been mapped and linked to the rehabilitation centres, which would be activated in the event of any evacuations.

Preventive measures were also being enforced at critical drainage points such as Budameru, Pulivagu, and Kotula Vagu, with instructions to ensure optimal drainage functionality. A 24×7 flood control room had been set up at the Collectorate, and residents could report flood-related emergencies by calling 91549 70454.

“There is no need to panic, but residents in the low-lying areas must remain vigilant,” the Collector said, assuring that the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams had been stationed for immediate deployment.

Mr. Lakshmisha was accompanied by Irrigation SE R. Mohan Rao, Krishna Central Division Executive Engineer and River Conservator R. Ravikiran, Divisional Engineer N. Ajaybabu, and Barrage JE Satya Rajesh, among others.

In Krishna district too, in-charge Collector Geetanjali Sharma held a videoconference with the field officers, and asked them to be alert. She said officers who were on leave should report for duty. She suggested setting up of a command control room, and added that people in all the low-lying areas were being alerted.

The A.P. State Disaster Management Authority cautioned people against going for swimming in the river, or venturing into the river on motor boats or punts. Fishermen were advised against fishing for the next two days.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has not given any rain forecast for the State until August 6. Only isolated light to moderate rain is expected at a few places