The Godavari began rising at Bhadrachalam with the water level nearing the first warning mark of 43 feet late on Sunday evening.

According to sources, the river stood at 42.80 feet at the temple town at 8 p.m., with a discharge of 9.22 lakh cusecs. Aided by inflows from tributaries particularly the Taliperu, the level rose from 36.60 feet at 1 a.m. to 42.80 feet by evening. The water level was expected to remain stable for the next few hours as rains eased in most upper reaches of the river, sources said.

The Taliperu reservoir in Charla mandal, however, continued to receive significant inflows from its catchment areas in neighbouring Chhattisgarh. Six spillway gates of Taliperu medium irrigation project were opened earlier in the day, releasing floodwaters downstream into the Godavari.

Meanwhile, paddy nurseries belonging to several farmers were reportedly damaged in Kashinagaram, Pragallapalli and various other villages in Dummugudem mandal of Bhadrachalam Agency following heavy rains over the past three days. Water stagnation in several paddy fields in some of these villages left farmers distressed, even as the rains brought relief to farmers elsewhere in the district after a prolonged dry spell.

Fifteen spillway gates of the Taliperu reservoir in Charla mandal of Bhadradri Kothagudem district were opened on Tuesday following moderate inflows from the Taliperu river catchment areas along the inter-State border with Chhattisgarh.

For the first time in this monsoon season, the reservoir received an inflow of 9679 cusecs, prompting project officials to open 15 gates to regulate the inflows and release the excess water into the downstream of the river.

The water level in the reservoir stood at 73.65 metres late on Tuesday afternoon, just below  its Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 74 metres.

Despite fresh inflows into the Taliperu reservoir, water levels in the Godavari and its other tributaries continued to remain low due to deficient rainfall in upstream areas.