Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said here on Friday that two breaches to Budameru, the rivulet here which caused a catastrophic deluge, were sealed and all efforts are being made to close the third breach.
The Chief Minister expressed hope that the third breach could be sealed later tonight or by Saturday morning and said that 50 per cent of the floodwater inflow was from this breach.
"We are about to close the breach by tonight or tomorrow morning. It is a very difficult one, even then we are putting in every effort, bringing in boulders and one minister is continuously sitting there," said Naidu, addressing a press conference at the NTR district collectorate.
He said some rainfall on Thursday in the catchment areas caused up to 9,000 cusecs of inflow into Budameru, triggering a rise in the water level in the inundated areas.
Further, he said there was no rain on Friday in the catchment areas as a result of which inflows reduced to 3,500 cusecs and added that the task of sealing the breach is also a new task even for the Army teams which are toiling at Budameru.
"Now we have a belief that inflows will not come tonight but if it rains in the night then they could come in another five to six hours," said Naidu, adding that the government is doing everything to ensure that relief reaches the last mile in the flood-affected areas.
To alleviate the woes of the flood-hit people facing power cuts, Naidu said 74,000 candles and 50,000 match boxes were distributed while 7,100 sanitation workers cleared 12,046 MT of solid waste.