Hyderabad/ Kurnool, October 02: Mantralayam, the famous shrine of Sri Raghavendra Swami located on the banks of Tungabhadra on the AP-Karnataka border was cut of from the rest of the State. Hundreds of pilgrims and the Peethadhipathi Sri Sushmeendra Swamiji and the Mantralayam MLA Y. Bala Nagi Reddy and his family were among those taking on the first floor of various buildings as the temple town was under six feet of water.
Thousands of people were marooned in nearly 30 villages in Kurnool and Mahabubnagar districts of Andhra Pradesh as the Tungabhadra and Krishna rivers received unprecedented inflows in the wake of heavy rains for the last four days.
Srisailam reservoir across the Krishna was receiving inflows of nearly 18 lakh cusecs of water. Much of this inflow was contributed by its tributary, the Tungabhadra, which was discharging 8.18 lakh cusecs. Sunkesula Barrage downstream in Kurnool district breached as it is not designed to handle such a massive inflow causing floods in several villages.
Mantralayam, the famous shrine of Sri Raghavendra Swami located on the banks of Tungabhadra on the AP-Karnataka border was cut of from the rest of the State. Hundreds of pilgrims and the Peethadhipathi Sri Sushmeendra Swamiji and the Mantralayam MLA Y. Bala Nagi Reddy and his family were among those taking on the first floor of various buildings as the temple town was under six feet of water. Two helicopters have been despatched to Mantralayam.
Kurnool city, once the capital of Andhra State, was reeling under floods from the Handri and Tungabhadra rivers. Several localities were under several feet of water forcing the authorities to evacuate the residents to safer places. Agriculture Minister N. Raghuveera Reddy, who was in Anantapur, was asked to rush to Kurnool.
As the situation in these two districts turned grim, the Army was called in to undertake relief and rescue operations. Four helicopters were despatched to the flood-hit areas. Six power boats of A. P. Tourism Development Corporation were also deployed.
The Government has sought the services of the National Disaster Response Force from Arakkonam in Tamil Nadu and about 120 personnel trained in disaster management are expected to arrive any time along with inflatable boats. Men of the A. P. Special Police have been placed at the disposal of the Kurnool and Mahabubnagar districts.
Nagarjunasagar, the last dam on the Krishna, was receiving inflows of nearly nine lakh cusecs of water on Friday morning and discharging five lakh cusecs. Once more flood water from Srisailam reaches this dam, the outflow is expected to increase steeply. Officials are now planning to evacuate people residing on the river bank in Guntur and Krishna districts, particularly Vijayawada, and several river islands in the estuary.
Revenue Minister D. Prasada Rao told reporters after Chief Minister K. Rosaiah reviewed the situation at a high-level meeting with officials that this was one of the worst-ever floods in the Krishna in the last 100 years.
—Agencies