Officials of Polavaram sound as the Sabari River rushes into the stream

Integrated Tribal Development Agency project manager Subham Nokwal inspects the inflow into the Sabari river at a bridge at Chintoor in Polavaram district. | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Officials are gearing up for rescue operations as the inflow into the Sabari river is expected to touch ten million cusecs by Saturday evening at Chintoor in Polavaram district. On Friday, the inflow into the Sabari river at Chintoor was nearly 2.8 million cusecs.

Sabari and Sileru rivers are receiving inflows from their catchment areas due to heavy rains reported over two days in Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

Polavaram District Collector K. Dinesh Kumar announced that people in low-lying areas, including submergence areas of the Polavaram Irrigation Project, have been warned about the rise of the Sabari river. “At least five tourist boats and 12 mechanized boats are ready in Kunavaram for rescue operations. Low-lying areas are identified for rescue operations based on the drowning reported in the 2022 Godavari floods,” said Mr. Dinesh Kumar.

Officials have also banned tourist activities and suspended boat operations on the Godavari river. Entry to tourist spots and waterfalls has been restricted due to rains in Polavaram district.

On the other hand, the displaced families of the Polavaram irrigation project in Koyaguru village staged a dharna at Sabari backwaters on Friday to seek implementation of the resettlement and rehabilitation package. They staged the protest for more than four hours and it was called off on the promise of Chintoor Integrated Tribal Development Agency project manager Subhama Nokwala, who rushed to Koyaguru village and scheduled talks on the R&R package for next Monday.

In East Godavari district, Tourism and Culture Minister Kandula Durgesh inspected paddy fields submerged by Yerra Kaluva, a river that flows through Nidadavolu constituency. “926 acres of paddy fields have been submerged in Nidadavolu assembly due to continuous rains reported during the last two days. All the affected paddy fields will be accounted for,” said Mr. Durgesh.

Published – 25 Sep 2026 23:48 IST