Many houses were inundated in the low-lying Murikipeta area of Guntur city following the heavy rain witnessed on Wednesday, prompting urgent relief work by the Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) authorities on Thursday morning.
The GMC officials have engaged machines to clear the silt in the drains and remove all the encroachments along the drainage systems to ensure free flow of water.
Municipal Commissioner Puli Srinivasulu, who inspected the locality, interacted with the affected residents. He assured them of the GMC’s support, immediate provision of drinking water and food, and personally supervising the removal of drain encroachments.
The residents were told to report any problems to the GMC call centre number 0863-2345103.
Out of 120 houses in Murikipeta, nearly 50 were flooded after a major drain overflowed.
Mr. Srinivasulu said the affected families refused to move to relief centres, so the GMC has taken up the task of providing them with lunch and dinner until the situation improved.
He attributed the flooding to excessive rain coupled with drainage overflow, worsened by encroachments and the low level of the area. He said that an outfall drain and a major culvert towards Chilakaluripet Road would soon be constructed to resolve the issue.
He noted that while internal roads in Murikipeta have already been sanctioned, the new drainage works would offer a permanent solution.
Over the past year, desilting and encroachment removal had prevented large-scale damage across the city, he said, adding the anti-encroachment drive would continue.
GMC deployed seven earthmovers and tractors to clear encroachments and divert rainwater back into the drain. Pumps were used for water bailout, and sandbags placed to stop further ingress into homes.
Local corporators and officials from Public Health, Town Planning, and Engineering Departments coordinated the relief work.
Published – August 14, 2025 08:52 pm IST
