YSR's project sorrow of Andhra town

I / Nandyal (ap) October 09, 2009, 10:37 IST

The controversial Pothireddypadu head regulator which regulates flow of water from a dam and whose capacity was enhanced to 40,000 cusecs by late Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy despite strong opposition from all parties, has proved to be the sorrow of Nandyal town and many villages around in Kurnool district.

Nandyal, a town with a population of about two lakh, is not new to floods. River Kundu that flows along this town causes a deluge every other monsoon but never in the past has that been such a devastating flood as this year.

River Kundu originates in the Orvakallu mandal of Kurnool district and traverses through constituencies like Nandyal, Aallagadda, Jammalamadugu, Mydukuru and Prodduturu and joins river Penna in neighbouring Kadapa district.

Kundu witnessed at least eight floods since 1994 but none of them caused any major destruction to properties except crops.

Nandyal town never remains water-logged for more than 24 hours even during worst floods earlier. This time, however, it remained under a thick sheet of water for over six days, former minister N Md Farook, who hails from Nandyal, said.

Local Congress MP S P Y Reddy said the heavy discharge from the Pothireddypadu head regulator, where flood water from the Srisailam reservoir overflowed, has left Kundu flooded.