24,000 people affected as Godavari, Sabari rivers remain in spate in Polavaram district

A woman prepares dinner in a traditional fishing boat that also serves as a houseboat on the banks of the Sabari river at Chintoor in Polavaram district on Friday. | Photo Credit: T. Appala Naidu Nearly 24,000 people, mostly from the Koya and Konda Reddi tribes living along the Godavari Valley, have been affected by the floods along the Godavari and Sabari rivers in Polavaram district, as the Godavari remained above the third warning level at Bhadrachalam on Saturday. No casualties have been reported in the district. The Sabari river is in spate on the Andhra Pradesh-Chhattisgarh border near Chintoor in Polavaram district on Saturday. | Photo Credit: T. Appala Naidu Though the inflow into the Godavari receded marginally by 8 p.m. on Saturday, the Sabari river continued to rise, inundating agricultural fields belonging to Koya tribal farmers in the Chintoor Agency. As many as 44 road links have been cut off, from Kalleru on the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border to the Kunavaram-Bhadrachalam stretch on the Telangana border. Authorities have advised people to avoid travelling in the Andhra Pradesh-Chhattisgarh-Odisha tri-junction region till August 3.Integrated Tribal Development Agency Project Officer Subham Nokwal told The Hindu that nearly 24,000 people had been affected by the floods in the Godavari and Sabari rivers in Polavaram district and that 1,683 people were evacuated on Saturday.“The evacuation drive is continuing. We have opened 11 relief camps out of the 118 identified for flood relief. As many as 110 pregnant women have been shifted to nearby government hospitals,” Mr. Nokwal said.In the Godavari delta spread across East Godavari, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema and West Godavari districts, at least 29 habitations on the river islands have been affected. The first flood warning has been issued at the Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage at Dowleswaram, where more than 12 lakh cusecs of floodwater is being discharged into the Bay of Bengal.“As many as four islands have been affected by the floods and essential commodities have been distributed to the affected families. The impact is expected to worsen if the water level crosses the second warning mark at Dowleswaram,” Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema Collector R. Mahesh Kumar told The Hindu. Published - August 01, 2026 08:52 pm IST