IN ANDHRA Pradesh, the year that flood doesn’t hit the eastern coastal districts is an exception. Since 1953, the number of acres flooded in these parts has tripled.

This year was not an exception.

By the second week of August, monsoon-related flooding had affected 14 districts, the worst-hit being Khamman, East Godavari, West Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram.

The death toll in the state stood at 106 while 5.42 lakh people were evacuated to 455 relief camps. According to the National Institute of Disaster Management, the flood problem in Andhra Pradesh stems from the “acute drainage problem” of the Godavari and Krishna rivers in the east coast.

“Government flood control measures mainly consist of dams and embankments. These efforts have mostly failed to control floods. Dams have themselves become a major cause of floods,” a senior state government official said at a recent seminar. “Embankments have disrupted the natural drainage system in flood plains; deforestation and siltation of rivers have compounded the problem.”

Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, on the other hand, blamed the damage on non-completion of embankments in the flood-hit regions and sought Central assistance for completion of bunds around villages and towns on the banks of the Godavari. “This will ensure that the tragedy is not repeated,” he said. What the state has to show on that front: 80 km of embankment work on a stretch of 480 km since work began after the floods of 1986. That promise is now part of the state’s Vision 2020 statement placed before the UNDP.

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