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Amaravati, Oct 30 (IANS) A major disaster was averted on Thursday at the Sangam Barrage on Penna river in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore district as a 35-tonne boat stuck in the barrage was pulled out by NDRF teams.
It was one of three boats used to collect sand, which got washed away in the strong currents following heavy rains caused by Cyclone Montha on Wednesday.
While two boats were brought to shore by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams on Wednesday, the third boat remained stuck and was in danger of hitting the anicut.
NDRF swimmers and team members worked for about 12 hours to pull it out efficiently. They tied the boat with ropes to three heavy boats on either side and locked it at the anchor.
District Collector Himanshu Shukla, Superintendent of Police Ajita Vejendla and other officials kept an eye on the situation.
Thirty-three personnel each from NDRF and SDRF, 100 policemen, Krishnapatnam Port patrol staff and fire and irrigation officials participated in the operation.
On Wednesday, due to rising flood waters, the ropes of three boats tied to the railing of the bridge broke. The freed boats moved rapidly towards the barrage.
Of the three boats, one got stuck in the sand ghat area, while the other reached Kanigiri reservoir. The third boat was stranded on the top of the old dam, about 400 meters above the barrage.
Since the third boat weighed 35 tons, it was difficult to take it out. After 12 hours of hard work by the NDRF team and others, he was finally pulled out.
Collector Himanshu Shukla congratulated the NDRF team.
Officials said that if NDRF teams had not controlled the washed-up boats, there would have been massive destruction at the barrage and low-lying areas would have been severely inundated.
Sangam Barrage, which has 85 gates, irrigates 3.85 lakh acres of fallow land in Nellore district. Officials say that if it was damaged, water would have been wasted and farmers would have suffered losses in the coming season.
–IANS
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