<p> 11SW O AP S</p><p>The Hindu, New Delhi, 04 November, 2006</p><p>Overflowing drain forces people to vacate houses in Deverapalli</p><p>K.N. Murali Sankar</p><p>High tide resisting Lajjabanda, say villagers</p><p>RAIN FURY: A farmer swims along the submerged bunds at Mudinepalli in Krishna district on Friday. Photo: Raju.V</p><p>DEVARAPALLI (Krishna dist.): Residents of this tiny hamlet near Machilipatnam have been vacating their houses one after the other with overflowing water from Lajjabanda drain inundating the place slowly.</p><p>By Friday afternoon, the village was caught in waist-deep water. The drain from Guduru joins the sea in Manginapudi, 7 km from this hamlet. With canals from Movva, Kodali and Gudlavalleru villages joining the drain, Lajjabanda began to overflow.</p><p>Relief camp</p><p>The villagers say the high tide in the sea is resisting the drain water from joining it.</p><p>A few brave families, which remained in the hamlet, too began vacating their houses. But, where to go?</p><p>This question dogged them, as the lone relief camp opened by the district administration in Munjuluru primary school, 3 km away from the hamlet, was already jam-packed.</p><p>"Our first priority is to send them to a safe place. Providing food and water is secondary now," said Jogi Subrahmanyam, sarpanch of Pulampadu village panchayat - Deverapalli is a hamlet of this village -- in Pedana mandal. A population of about 1,600 was residing in the village and the hamlet together and a majority of them left for safer destinations.</p><p>Overflowing of water from Lajjabanda drain began on Sunday and water stagnated at a height of three feet all over the village by Wednesday. "There is a steady increase in water level from Wednesday onwards. If the flow continues to be like this, our village will be completely submerged," said Mr. Subrahmanyam.</p><p>He held the irrigation department responsible for the situation, as the drain was not repaired last summer. .</p>