Administration put on high alert

Chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy today said that the state government is keeping a close watch on the flood situation along the banks of Godavari river in Khammam, East and West Godavari districts, where the river levels are expected to reach the third warning level, by putting the administration on high alert.

Briefing the media over the latest situation and the steps being taken by the government, the chief minister said that over 133 minor irrigation tanks in Srikakulam district have been breached while power supply has been disrupted in over 201 mandals across six districts.

While Srikakulam was severely affected by the cyclonic storm that crossed over from the Bay of Bengal into the state at Kalingapatnam on Monday, Khammam district in Telangana is now feared to be the most affected due to floods in Godavari districts with reports of marooning of vast areas across the river bank coming in.

Two Indian Air Force helicopters have been pressed into service to rescue people from the marooned areas in Khammam and East Godavari districts, the chief minister said.

With rough weather making it difficult to unload fertiliser containers from ships at Vizag and Kakinada ports, the state government has requested the Centre to send over 60,000 tonnes of urea from Chennai via land routes into the state, the chief minister said.

"There is no need to panic about the fertiliser shortage as the situation will come back to normalcy in a couple of days," he advised the farmers.

With bountiful rains, the usage of fertiliser in the state has gone up from over 6 lakh tonnes to more than 8 lakh tonnes during the ongoing kharif season, which is expected to touch about 12 lakh tonnes by the end of the season, according to the agriculture department.

Besides rescue and rehabilitation operations, power supply is being restored in all the cyclone-affected places on war footing by engaging about 119 teams, the chief minister said.

While rains in the three north-coastal districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts stopped by yesterday, heavy rains have been reported in Khammam, East and West Godavari districts besides other parts of Telangana from yesterday. Koonavaram in Khammam district received a record 48 cm rain yesterday.