Kakinada:With floodwaters of the Godavari and Sabari rivers continuing to recede on Monday, thousands of families who took shelter in relief camps began returning to their homes.
They faced a hard task of clearing thick layers of mud and salvaging damaged household belongings. Residents said it would take at least two days to restore their houses to a habitable condition.
With the flood threat easing, district administrations shifted their focus to post-flood restoration, sanitation, supply of safe drinking water and disease prevention through extensive operations in affected villages. In Konaseema district, however, floodwaters continue to stagnate in some islet villages, forcing residents to use boats for transportation.
In Polavaram district, officials took up restoration works on a war-footing in VR Puram, Kunavaram, Chinturu and Yetapaka mandals. Teams comprising gram panchayat special officers, MPDOs, tahsildars, and personnel from the health, fire services and rural water supply departments inspected the affected areas to assess the situation and coordinate relief measures.
Drinking water quality was tested using field kits in villages including Vaddigudem, Ramavaram and Jeediguppa in VR Puram mandal; Sabari Kothagudem, Kondrajupeta, Tekubaka and Tekulaboru in Kunavaram mandal; and Chinturu, Kumuru, Mukkunuru and Sriramagiri in Chinturu mandal.
Cleaning operations covered schools, anganwadi centres, streets and public water sources, while medical teams conducted health camps to monitor residents for water-borne and vector-borne diseases.
The local authorities supplied drinking water through tankers in areas where regular sources remained disrupted. Overhead tanks were cleaned and disinfected, while sanitation drives were carried out in flood-affected habitations.
Polavaram collector Dinesh Kumar said the timely response of officials stationed in flood-affected villages helped minimize damage.
Konaseema collector Mahesh Kumar asked teams of officials to organise sanitation works on a war footing, remove the debris and waste left behind by floodwaters, and restore drinking water supply. He also told officials to resolve drinking water complaints within four to five hours.
Medical camps in flood-affected villages have been extended for another two days, with 56 special camps currently functioning across the district.
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