Godavari on the rise; threat of more floods loom large over Telangana

The flood situation in the State might be far from over, with the Godavari River experiencing a significant rise in water levels due to continuous rains over the last ten days in its upper catchment areas and tributaries in Maharashtra. Increased discharges from various projects in the river basin are contributing to the flood flow, with the river on a rising trend at most upstream points including Nanded. The impact is expected to be felt in Telangana, adding to the woes of the already affected areas.

The flood levels at Bhadrachalam are anticipated to reach critical warning points within the next 24 hours. This marks the second flood event in the river within five weeks. In Mulugu district, Godavari water is flowing over National Highway 163 (between Hyderabad and Bhupalapatnam in Chhattisgarh) at Tekulagudem in Wajeedu mandal, leading to the suspension of all vehicle operations on this route.

The Sriram Sagar project is experiencing steady increases in inflows from the river’s upper reaches, with 41 of its 42 gates opened to manage the flood flow.



The project has reached its gross storage capacity of 80 TMC, with inflows standing at 2.3 lakh cusecs by Tuesday evening and expected to rise further. The Sripada Yellampalli project is receiving over 4.78 lakh cusecs, with outflows around 5.3 lakh cusecs. At Lakshmi Barrage, inflows are at 35.19 lakh cusecs, while Sammakka Sagar is seeing flood levels rise to 7.68 lakh cusecs due to contributions from the Pranahita and Indravati tributaries. Downstream, tributaries such as Taliperu, Kinnerasani, and Sabari are also adding significantly to the flood flow.

The first spell of flooding in the Godavari was primarily due to contributions from the Pranahita and other downstream tributaries. This time however, there are big inflows from tributaries in Maharashtra as well, heightening the possibilities of more flooding. Meanwhile, in the Krishna River, inflows have seen a marginal fall, but overall discharges from joint projects of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh remain high, with outflows at 3.76 lakh cusecs at Jurala, 5.34 lakh cusecs at Srisailam, and 5.29 lakh cusecs at Nagarjuna Sagar.