Dams, irrigation sources devoid of inflows

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, JULY 21. Major dams and medium/minor irrigation sources in the State are devoid of inflows, even one and a half months after the onset of the monsoon.

The water levels in Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar are below the minimum draw-down levels at which water-release into the canals and power generation is possible.There is hardly 12 tmcft of storage in the Sriramsagar project as against 90.3 tmcft at the full reservoir level. On Saturday, the storage in Srisailam stood at 799 ft MSL, one ft below the MDDL for power generation, as compared to the FRL of 885 ft MSL. That in Nagarjunasagar is at 499 ft MSL as against the full reservoir level FRL of 590 ft MSL whereas the MDDL for right and left canals and powerhouse is 510 ft MSL.

Poor reservoir levels have shattered the schedule of water- release into the canals for the season. The Government is planning to make the releases into Nagarjunasagar canals next week if the storage touches at least 503 ft by then. Releases from Sriramsagar are ruled out for the time being.

Information available with Irrigation Department indicates that the situation regarding medium/minor irrigation sources is no better. This had been so because of the shortfall in rainfall so far. Up to July 18, Rayalaseema region had a deficit of 55 per cent, Coastal Andhra 16 per cent and Telangana 6 per cent.

Worst fears under the Alamatti dam have been confirmed with the postponement of the kharif season by a few weeks under right and left bank canals of Nagarjunasagar and Krishna delta which together account for an acreage of about 45 lakh acres. The Irrigation Secretary, Mr C. V. S. K. Sarma, says whatever little inflow available in the river was being impounded by this Karnataka dam and it was only a day ago that Srisailam received its first inflow of the season at 20,000 cusecs. He laments that there is no mechanism under which the inflows can be shared by the three riparian States on pro rata basis as per the percentage of their allocations under the Bachawat Award.

The following are the storages available in different reservoirs with gross capacities given in brackets: Thungabhadra 61.54 tmcft (111.5 tmcft), Jurala 5.39 tmcft (11.9 tmcft), Srisailam 48.72 tmcft (308 tmcft), Nagarjunasagar 183.6 tmcft (408 tmcft), Sriramsagar 12 tmcft (90.3 tmcft), Singur 13.6 tmcft (29.9 tmcft), Nizamsagar 0.79 tmcft (17.8 tmcft), Somasila 3.97 tmcft (73.8 tmcft) and Kandaleru 5.8 tmc ft (68 tmcft).

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Southern States
Previous : Landlord shot dead by naxals
Next     : 200 "Potharajus" quit age-old profession