New retaining wall along right margin of Krishna river to protect 20,000 people from floods

The Water Resources Department is preparing to inaugurate the construction of a new flood-retaining wall along the right margin of the Krishna river. Once completed, it will protect around 20,000 residents of Tadepalli, Mahanadu Colony and Sundarayya Nagar, falling under the Mangalagiri Assembly constituency of Guntur district, from floods. The 1.7 km wall with a height of 9 metres will be built between the railway bridge and Varadhi.

Minister for Human Resources Development Nara Lokesh is likely to lay the foundation stone for the project on March 9. Proposal for the project, worth ₹294 crore, was approved in January 2025.

“As of now, we have only readied the ground. After the inauguration, we will begin the work full-scale,” said Krishna Central Division Executive Engineer and River Conservator R. Ravikiran. The work will be halted during the monsoon. Depending on the intensity of monsoons, the project may take at least two years to complete, he added.

The government had earlier constructed a retaining wall on the left margin of the river to protect the low-lying areas of Vijayawada from floods. This wall, 5 km long and 10.76 metres high, and constructed between Yanamalakaduru and Padmavathi Ghat, prevented floodwaters from entering residential colonies during the September-2024 floods.

The retaining wall constructed earlier, however, could withstand a floodwater flow up to 12 lakh cusec. After the 2024 floods, when the Prakasam Barrage received inflow at an unprecedented 11.47 lakh cusec, it was decided that the upcoming wall should be able to withstand a water flow of 15 lakh cusec, Mr. Ravikiran said, adding that the retaining wall will provide relief to people living in Tadepalli from recurring flooding.