Montha brings deluge to dams across Krishna, forcing floodgates open

Widespread heavy rains during the recent severe cyclonic storm Montha brought exceptionally heavy inflow to Pulichintala Reservoir and Prakasam Barrage situated across River Krishna, forcing to discharge water in the river, an official said on Thursday.Inflow could swell even more before subsiding so people living in low-lying villages along the river downstream need to be vigilant.

Widespread heavy rains during the recent severe cyclonic storm Montha brought exceptionally heavy inflow to Pulichintala Reservoir and Prakasam Barrage situated across River Krishna, forcing to discharge water in the river, an official said on Thursday.

Inflow could swell even more before subsiding so people living in low-lying villages along the river downstream need to be vigilant. Travelling, swimming and fishing in the river should be avoided, he warned.

Prakhar Jain, Managing Director of Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority, said inflow at Prakasam Barrage touched 2.74 lakh cusecs (cubic feet per second) and the same amount was being discharged into the river downstream.

''Due to the widespread heavy rains, water level in River Krishna has gone up. Water is being released downstream from Pulichintala (project) and Prakasam Barrage,'' said Jain in a press release.

Observing that the first level warning could be issued at Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada by Thursday evening, the disaster management official noted that the inflow at the barrage could go up to 5 lakh cusecs.

Meanwhile, Jain advised people in low-lying villages to be vigilant, and warned people against travelling in the river, swimming and fishing.

Likewise, Pulichintala Reservoir could receive up to 5 lakh cusecs. Consequently, between 4.9 lakh cusecs and 5.5 lakh cusecs of water could be released from the reservoir.

As a result of this move, water will be released from Prakasam Barrage. Meanwhile, Irrigation Minister N Ramanaidu is monitoring the flood situation at Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada.

Rambabu's expects more inflow at Prakasam Barrage than Prakar Jain's estimate. The minister said, ''As 6 lakh to 6.5 lakh cusecs of floodwaters are likely to flow to Prakasam Barrage by today evening, we are alerting inhabitants downstream,'' He directed all the officials under Krishna river delta purview to monitor the situation at the ground level and take precautionary measures.

Likewise, the irrigation minister directed the collectors of NTR, Guntur, Bapatla, Prakasam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitaramaraju districts to take precautionary measures as streams in these districts are on spate.

Similarly, he instructed officials in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli districts to be careful and monitor the situation at culverts, streams and other water bodies as heavy rains are expected.

Further, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan is surveying damaged fields in Krishna district. The southern state was struck by the severe cyclonic storm Montha, meaning a fragrant flower in Thai language.