Heavy Rainfall Across 16 Districts, Chandrababu Orders Water Storage Push

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has directed officials to capture the inflows generated by the ongoing rains and use them to fill reservoirs, tanks and other water bodies across the state. He specifically called for maximising storage in the Krishna and Godavari delta regions, using motors and mobile lifting systems wherever required.

Naidu issued the directions during a review meeting at the RTGS centre on Thursday to assess rainfall, river flows and the state's water situation. Officials said the rains triggered by the severe depression over the past three days had resulted in a moderate rise in groundwater levels. Around 11,000 cusecs of water was flowing into the system from catchment areas, including the Prakasam Barrage and Munneru.

The Chief Minister asked authorities to store available water in downstream reservoirs and other water bodies. He also directed them to utilise Godavari inflows to fill the Yeleru Reservoir with 24 TMC and explore diverting water through the Polavaram Left Canal to water bodies up to Anakapalli.

Officials said 16 districts had recorded heavy rainfall, with the impact particularly significant in Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Manyam, Kakinada, the Godavari districts, Eluru, Krishna and NTR districts. Authorities were asked to closely monitor river and stream flows, reservoir inflows and rainfall forecasts and take preventive measures.

Several reservoirs in the Godavari basin, including Sabari, Indravati, Yeleru, Tandava, Pampa and Meghadrigadda, were expected to receive substantial inflows. Officials also warned of rising flows in the Nagavali and Vamsadhara basins and possible flood-warning levels at Gotta, Bhadrachalam, Dowleswaram and Kunta.

On agriculture, Naidu said the state must prepare for the effects of El Niño by improving soil health and promoting soil-test-based crop planning, biochar and natural farming through pilot projects. He also called for technology-driven forecasting and integrated data on irrigation and reservoirs.

The Chief Minister reviewed an AI-based groundwater application developed using government datasets and NASA satellite imagery, saying such tools could support better water-management decisions.

He also directed officials to improve school infrastructure, monitor electricity supply and prepare a year-long sports calendar covering village-level competitions. Nodal officers were asked to hold constituency-level meetings across all 175 constituencies, while government departments were told to expand AI-based data analysis as part of data-driven governance.