The minister provides relief for submerged agricultural land in Srikakulam district

Paddy fields were flooded near Laver in Srikakulam district. | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Two days of torrential rains wreaked havoc in Srikakulam district, with more than one million cusp of water released from three major river projects, submerging nearly 30,000 acres of farmland and forcing the evacuation of more than 12,000 people living in low-lying areas on Friday morning. A well-marked deep depression over the Bay of Bengal crossed the north coast of Andhra Pradesh near Kalingapatnam in Srikakulam district during the intervening night of Wednesday-Thursday.

Although the situation is under control, paddy fields have been damaged by the release of large amounts of water due to continuous inflows from the Nagavalli, Vamsadhara and Bahuda river basins. Irrigation officials on Friday afternoon released 66,900 cusecs of water from the Narayanpur anicut of the Nagavali river after receiving the same amount of water from the upper reaches. As many as 41,425 cusecs of water were released from the Gotta barrage built on the Vamsadhara river, while 35,656 cusecs of water were released from the Bahuda river project.

Water discharge from these river projects submerged 30,000 acres and damaged crops in Burja, Amadalavalasa, Srikakulam, Narasannapeta, Polaki, Santabommali and Kotabommali mandals.

Agriculture Minister K. Atchannaidu visited the flood-affected villages and assured farmers that the government would provide compensation for crop loss due to floods. He said the enumeration would begin in a few days as the government would send different teams of agriculture officials to assess the damage in their respective areas.

Srikakulam Collector Swapnil Dinakar Pundkar and Superintendent of Police KV Maheswar Reddy visited the flood-affected areas of Allena village in Burja mandal of the district. The two waded through flooded streets and interacted with villagers, saying the government had arranged shelter and food for them for the next few days.

“Through the concerted efforts of the administration, the government has minimized the flood damage in the district,” Mr. Swapnil told The Hindu.

Published – 25 Sep 2026 19:38 IST