Patrolling along Telugu Ganga canal

By M. Malleswara Rao

HYDERABAD, MAY 13. The Andhra Pradesh police and irrigation staff have begun patrolling the 151-km stretch of the Telugu Ganga canal from Kandaleru, now supplying water to Chennai, to remove unauthorised pumpsets, installed by farmers.

The step had been taken to ensure that the pumpsets do not draw away the already meagre flow of water in the canal in Nellore and Chittoor districts. The District Collectors, through a notification, had warned of ``seizures and other punishments'' if farmers resorted to illegal tapping. A round-the-clock vigil was being maintained by the Irrigation staff all along the quietly flowing canal, into which water was released from Kandaleru 10 days ago, while the police are concentrating on the possible trouble-spots. The bitter experience in the past was that the meagre releases were absorbed by these pumpsets on one end and the seepages/leakages on the other.

Water had to be released from Kandaleru as the main source, the Srisailam dam, lacked sufficient storage. Andhra Pradesh had released its quota of 5 tmc ft of water into the Telugu Ganga so far this year, out of its own sources, without looking to Karnataka and Maharashtra, which are required to add 10 tmc ft more -- 5 tmc ft each. The working-table for the canal provides for release of 8 tmc ft during July-October and 7 tmc ft during January-April. As against this, 4 tmc ft was supplied during the first season this year and under the present release, one tmc ft was being added.

The Chief Engineer of Telugu Ganga, Srikalahasti, Mr R. Satyanarayana Rao, who briefed the Government here today on the fresh release, told The Hindu that the Kandaleru water, released on May 3, reached Poondi, Chennai's drinking water source, eight days later covering a distance of 151 km on the Andhra side and 24 km in Tamil Nadu. At this rate, it would take at least 40 to 50 days to convey the planned quantum of one tmc ft into Poondi. The flow was too slow at 1 kmph, as the availability in Kandaleru was only 1.5 tmc ft over the dead-storage.

As Poondi and other reservoirs had to improve their storage capacities, there would not have been any use even if the other two riparian States had released their quota. In fact, the entire length of canal -- 408 km from its origin from the backwaters of Srisailam dam -- requires stabilisation for conveying the 15 tmc ft.

The Major Irrigation Minister, Mr. M. Venkateswara Rao, took personal interest to make the release successful this year. Some ``seepage/leakage-prone points'' were noticed a few days before May 1, the date originally fixed for the release, and were attended to on an emergency basis with 30 poclains, 12 bulldozers, and 10 tippers under his supervision, he said. This made the release possible three days later. Moreover, there was no trouble from farmers of Nellore district who sat on a dharna at the head-regulator at Kandaleru last year. They were calm this time as their rabi crops had been given sufficient irrigation with 22 tmc ft drawn from Srisailam and put into Somasila.

The Tamil Nadu Government has agreed to give Rs 120 crores to improve the carrying capacity of the Telugu Ganga. Against the total cost of the project, revised to Rs 2,470 crores, about Rs 1,317 crores had been spent so far, with Rs 512 crores coming from Tamil Nadu.

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