Cloudburst or conspiracy? KCR claims foreign countries are creating cloudbursts

Hyderabad: Cloudburst is now a foreign conspiracy, according to Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao who visited the flood-affected people in Bhadrachalam and offered Shanti pooja at the Godavari river.

Godavari river at 1 p.m was 62.20 feet at Bhadrachalam. The river crossed its third level of warning of 53 feet and is continuing to flow above the danger mark since 14 July.

Godavari recorded 71.20 feet on 16 July recording the second-highest flood in the river. The highest was 75.6 feet in 1986.

KCR, during his meeting after the pooja at Godavari, said, "Foreign countries are creating cloudbursts. In the past, they did it in Kashmir's Leh and Ladakh and later in Uttarakhand. We have got clues that recently they have been doing it in the surrounding region of Godavari."

Climate, too, is not to be left out of politics as the science behind the phenomenon is far from being understood. Netizens booed the technicality of such a possibility stating that understanding the science of cloudbursts and their occurrences was more important than the conspiracy theories.

The Indian Meteorological Department has been constantly issuing warnings. Does this mean that the planning at the ground level of the inflow of water was not estimated properly?

The challenges at the ground have been the complete filling up of water tanks, lakes, ponds, fields, and homes. Godavari tributaries and rivulets along with its catchment areas are completely filled.

To add to it the rains in Maharashtra have led to water flowing downstream to Telangana and now to Andhra Pradesh. In TS, more than 15,000 people have been evacuated and they are in shelter homes in schools and other government buildings. In Andhra Pradesh, 76,775 people have been evacuated as the Godavari waters have affected 324 villages.

KCR said experts from different government departments will be brought together to construct housing colonies at a height. He said Rs. 1,000 crores will be released to ensure that this situation does not occur again.

Repairs to Sri Sitaramchandra Swamy temple and works on the embankment towards Burgampadu will also be taken up. KCR also interacted with the people who had to flee their homes due to the flood waters.

It is "one of the worst natural disasters," said KCR said during his inspection and aerial survey from Bhadrachalam to Eturunagaram.

Ministers T. Harish Rao, Puvvada Ajay Kumar and Errabelli Dayakar Rao, chief secretary Somesh Kumar and DGP Mahender Reddy accompanied the CM.