Date:24/10/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/10/24/stories/2005102401371300.htm

Back Vizag airport gets flooded again

Our Bureau

Visakhapatnam , Oct 23

THE Visakhapatnam airport was inundated again on Sunday with the release of floodwaters from Meghadrigedda reservoir and it is uncertain when flights will be restored.

In fact, even though the airport was re-opened on Saturday after nine days, no flights could be operated due to scheduling uncertainties.

Within 24 hours of re-opening the airport, the runway was inundated on Sunday for the second time in ten days following discharge of over 2,000 cusecs of water from Meghadrigedda. Therefore, there have been no flights for the past ten days. The airport went under water for the first time on October 15. After the water receded, experts from the Navy, Irrigation, Forest, air traffic control and other agencies declared that it was fit to resume its operations from Saturday.

"As of now, we are not in a position to operate any flight due to flooding of the runway in the early hours of Sunday. We will keep a watch on the inflows from Meghadrigedda for the next 48 hours," the Airport Authority of India General Manager, Mr H.S. Suresh, said.

"It is unfortunate. This time water rushed in from Simhachalam side due to heavy rainfall," the Visakhapatnam district Collector, Mr Praveen Prakash, said. Gates Nos. 2,3 and 4 of Meghadrigedda were lifted and the release will continue due to heavy inflows into the reservoir having a storage capacity of 1.02 tmc feet.

The catchment area experienced a good amount of rainfall during the past few days.