The district authorities and the Integrated Tribal Development Authority (ITDA) are on high alert following heavy rains in the Visakha Agency area.
All the 11 mandals in the Agency, which come under the ITDA, have been receiving heavy rains for the last 13 days, and a few of them such as Munchingput and Pedabayalu are the worst-affected.
According to ITDA Project Officer S. Venkateswar, about 17 hamlets are cut off from the mainland due to landslips or overflowing streams.
The Visakha Agency spans over 6,200 sq km and comprises 11 mandals. About 1,400 tribal habitations have no roads of any kind. During the rainy season, many of them remain cut off from the mainland.
It is learnt that two small bridges, which included the one at Dumbriguda, have been washed away, cutting off a couple of hamlets from the mainland. But the ITDA has provided alternative routes to the hamlets.
‘No casualties’
“There are no casualties. But about three to four thatched houses have collapsed in a couple of hamlets,” Dr. Venkateswar has said.
Landslips have occurred on the Paderu-Vizag, Araku-Vizag and Chintapalli-Vizag roads. “But the roads have been cleared for commuting in about 40 minutes,” he says.
The ITDA has been on high alert since June as heavy rains are usually expected then. A number of schools, community buildings and panchayat offices in all the 11 mandals have been converted into shelter homes.
‘Medicines stocked’
“We have also stocked ration and other essential items in advance. The panchayat offices have been advised to act appropriately in case of emergencies. We have also put the medical teams on alert and ASHA workers have been told to stay put in their respective villages. Stocks of medicines have been provided to them,” says Dr. Venkateswar.
“The panchayat offices have been advised to take up sanitation drive to avoid outbreak of seasonal diseases after the rains,” he adds.
Command control centres have been opened at all the tashildar offices in the 11 mandals and a central command control centre has been opened at the ITDA to monitor the situation.
According to the PO, though there is no flood-like situation in the mandals, life has been affected to a certain extent, and efforts are on to restore normalcy.