Polavaram District Collector K. Dinesh Kumar inspecting Koya tribal village along the banks of Sabari in Chintoor agency in Polavaram district.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
A sigh of relief for at least 10,000 families living downstream of the Sabari and Godavari rivers in 77 villages of the Polavaram district as the inflow of floodwater had receded on Monday evening, enabling mobilisation of medical support and opening up road network which was cut off for the last two days.According to the Godavari Flood Report 2026 issued by the Water Resource Department, the first flood warning was issued on August 1, followed by the second and third warnings in the next two days, leading to 34,000 people being affected and at least 1,073 houses being submerged, while nearly 750 families shifted to relief camps in four mandals of the district – Chintoor, Yetapaka, Kunavaram and V.R. Puram.However, with the receding of the floodwater, the road network for the 77 villages in the submergence area has been opened up. “All the 17 road networks that were submerged over the past two days have been restored as flood water receded along the banks of the river Sabari in Polavaram district by Monday evening,” Integrated Tribal Development Agency Project Officer, Subham Nokwal, said, adding that the bus services along the tri-State borders have resumed via Chatti of Chhattisgarh and Motu in Odisha State in Polavaram district.Meanwhile, the Health Department has conducted 71 medical camps to prevent the prevalence of water-borne diseases in the flood-hit villages and anti-venom doses, medicines required for emergency medical care, and pregnant women are readied by government hospitals. At least 55 boats are being deployed for the transportation of commodities and evacuation.At the Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage at Dowleswaram, the first flood warning has been withdrawn after inflow was recorded below 10 lakh cusecs on Monday. However, 11,000 cusecs of flood water is being released into the Godavari delta.In Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district, at least 10 relief camps remain open. However, the people inhabiting the four islands of the river Godavari choose to stay back despite the suspension of boating services to the main roads. Published - August 03, 2026 09:10 pm IST
