ANANTAPUR: Widening the proposed Handri Neeva Sujala Shravanthi (HNSS) drinking and irrigation project main canal would be another milestone for drought hit Rayalaseema region in coming days. It was Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s idea to widen the main canal to utilise more water for tail end parts by diversion of Pattiseema water through Srisailam reservoir. With HNSS project phase–II proposed for diversion and filling of water to various tanks and minor and medium irrigation projects including those on the home turf of the CM, widening proposal of main canal on anvil. HNSS Project Phase-I, starts near Malyala in Nandikotkur mandal in Kurnool district and proposes lifting 14 TMC of water from Krishna river from the foreshore of Srisailam reservoir in nine lifts, including Muchchumarri Lift and three reservoirs on main canal.
HNSS canal of 216 km length is connected to the pump houses to provide irrigation facilities to 1.98 lakh acres in Kurnool and Ananthapur districts besides providing drinking water to a population of 10 lakh in 144 villages. Peruru Branch Canal in Ramagiri mandal to fill Peruru Dam along with three lifts to provide irrigation for 80 thousand acres is under progress.
The work on Phase-I was taken up in 27 packages of civil works and the main canal works of 216.3 km up to Jeedipalli Reservoir have been completed and distributary works are in progress. Anantapur collector, Kona Sasidhar said that the Gollapalli reservoir with 0.90 TMC ft will be filled in a week. “Works of Madakasira Branch Canal are in progress on war footing basis,” he said.
As per records phase-I requires 14 TMC ft, while phase-II of the HNSS project ending in Chittoor district needs 26TMC ft. Both phases were proposed to meet drinking water needs of 33 lakh people in the region. The Chief Minister, during his recent visit and aerial survey, noticed that the main canal is unable to pump out available water sources during season from Malyala. Asia’s biggest lift irrigation project had 12 lifts including Muchumarri from Malyala in Kurnool district towards Peruru reservoir. About 458 MWs of power is needed at the pump houses till Peruru dam. Irrigation expert, K.S ubramanyam from Anantapur observed that widening of the canal would help pump more water to the region when surplus water is available at Srisailam. “We had no minimum allocation this year from TB Dam due to rain deficit in upstream Western Ghats areas of Karnataka. But, surplus water was recorded at Srisailam,” he said.
Chief whip Kaluva Srinivasulu said that widening the existing canal would help draw more surplus water for the region. However, former MP, Ananta Venkatrami Reddy said that the CM should complete pending minor works and those getting delayed. He recalled the late Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy initiated to complete more than 90 percent works, but remaining 10 percent works unable to irrigated proposed ayacut under phase-I.
