Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday directed authorities to distribute 50 kg of rice free of cost to fishermen families who have been unable to venture into the sea for the past five days due to rough weather and heavy rainfall across the state.
Reviewing the rain and flood situation, particularly in North Andhra, via a teleconference with senior officials and Agriculture Minister K. Atchannaidu, Mr. Naidu instructed the administration to maintain round-the-clock vigilance, step up relief and rehabilitation in inundated residential localities, and assess crop damage caused by the deluge.
Highlighting the need for long-term water management, the Chief Minister instructed officials to expedite project proposals for constructing two new barrages on the Krishna River — one between Pulichintala and Prakasam Barrage, and another downstream of Prakasam Barrage. He asked the irrigation department to finalise the blueprints and submit them to the Central government for clearance and financial assistance.
To capitalise on the heavy river runoffs in North Andhra, Mr. Naidu ordered officials of the Irrigation and Energy departments to coordinate immediately to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the Hiramandalam Lift Irrigation Scheme. He directed that the remaining lift works be completed on a war footing to divert floodwaters from the swollen Vamsadhara into the Hiramandalam reservoir.
Officials briefed the Chief Minister that the recent spell of heavy rainfall had significantly eased Andhra Pradesh’s monsoon deficit, bringing it down from 50 per cent to 31 per cent overall — with Coastal Andhra recording a 19.8 per cent deficit and Rayalaseema standing at 42 per cent.
Between September 23 and September 26, cumulative water storage across 29 key reservoirs increased by 21 TMC, jumping from 101 TMC to 122 TMC. Eleven projects in North Andhra alone added about 5 TMC, while 18 reservoirs spread across Kakinada, Polavaram, Alluri Sitarama Raju, Eluru, Palnadu, Nellore, Kurnool, Kadapa, and Anantapur districts added another 16 TMC.
River basins across the state have recorded a dramatic surge in inflows:
Vamsadhara & Nagavali Basins: Inflows into Gotta Barrage jumped from 7,214 cusecs on September 20 to 47,100 cusecs on September 25. Inflows at Narayanapuram Anicut surged from 2,100 cusecs to 49,800 cusecs, while inflows at Madduvalasa rose to 18,000 cusecs, boosting its storage from 1.61 TMC to 2.79 TMC. Thotapalli Barrage recorded flows climbing from 2,484 cusecs to 23,250 cusecs.
Godavari Basin: Discharge at Dowleswaram Barrage escalated from 1.20 lakh cusecs on September 20 to 3.50 lakh cusecs on September 25. Donkarayi reservoir’s storage grew from 11.67 TMC to 15.78 TMC, and Seeleru (Guntawada) reservoir expanded from 1.52 TMC to 3.90 TMC.
Krishna Basin: Inflows into Prakasam Barrage rose sharply from 8,187 cusecs to 40,521 cusecs over five days, while inflows into the Munneru increased from 3,210 cusecs to 9,000 cusecs.
The Chief Minister stressed that while life-saving relief operations remain the immediate priority, the irrigation wing must work simultaneously to impound locally generated floodwaters and divert surpluses to fill minor, medium, and major water bodies across the state to build security for upcoming agricultural seasons.
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