Long-term plan needed to increase flood discharge capacity of Prakasam Barrage, says Union Minister Shivraj Chouhan

Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan conducting an inspection of Prakasam Barrage, in Vijayawada on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Union Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan stressed the need for long-term planning to tackle more severe floods likely to be caused by the Krishna River at Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada in the future, given the perilous situation which the city has gone through in a span of 48 hours.

The Central team, which is currently on a visit to the city, will submit a report on the floods with suggestions on how to increase the discharge capacity of Prakasam Barrage, Mr. Chouhan stated.

Addressing reporters along with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu at the NTR District Collectorate on Thursday, Mr. Chouhan said the State government was caught unawares by the massive flood, but has been working round the clock to mitigate the damage. The death toll would have otherwise been higher, he noted.

Mr. Chouhan observed that an unprecedented 40 cm of rainfall lashed the city in just two days, triggering floods, and added that the breaches to the Budameru rivulet aggravated the crisis. Illegal mining done along the rivulet was also partly responsible for the flooding, he said.

Crops in about 1.80 lakh hectares were destroyed and the number of affected farmers was almost two lakh, he stated, asserting that the Central and the State Governments would together salvage the situation.

Mr. Naidu said the flood discharge capacity of Prakasam Barrage would have to be increased to at least 15 lakh cusecs against the 11.45 lakh cusecs recorded in the wake of the cloudburst on August 31 and September 1.

“The Prakasam Barrage was designed 100 years ago to discharge a maximum of nearly 12 lakh cusecs,” Mr. Naidu said, adding that a proper plan was needed to contain the damage being caused by the flooding in the Budameru rivulet.

Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar, State Ministers K. Atchannaidu and Nadendla Manohar and Rajahmundry MP and BJP State president Daggubati Purandeswari were present.