NIO Goa experts identify 14 breach-prone stretches along river Godavari in Konaseema

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National Institute of Oceanography chief scientist Jaya Kumar Seelam and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema District Collector R. Mahesh Kumar during an online meeting in Amalapuram on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: BY ARRANGEMENT

Experts from the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO-Goa), led by Chief Scientist Jaya Kumar Seelam, have identified 14 locations prone to breaches along the banks of the Gouthami and Vasista, branches of the Godavari river, in Dr.B.R.Ambedkar Konaseema district.

Originating in Maharashtra, the Godavari river confluences into the Bay of Bengal in Dr.B.R.Ambedkar Konaseema and West Godavari districts. The river witnesses at least two floods every year.

At a review meeting with revenue and water resource department officials on Wednesday, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema District Collector R. Mahesh Kumar directed officials to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) and socio-economic study on the impact on the villages, crops and assets along the banks of Gouthami and Vasista in the event of a breach of the embankments. The officials were also told to record the water pressure in the 14 locations prone to breach. 

“The NIO-Goa experts have recommended the riprap method, in which stones are placed along the embankment. We will also examine the possibility of using geo-textile in some locations to minimise the cost of strengthening the embankments”, said Mr. Mahesh Kumar. 

Later, the officials have been directed to carry out a study on the impact of silting at the confluence points of two irrigation drains - Konavaram drain and Rameswaram drain - which are submerging nearly 15,000 acres of agricultural fields in the district. 

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