Srisailam backwaters to cater Rayalaseema needs

ANANTAPUR: Despite poor water levels in Tungabhadra reservoir, a major source of irrigation and drinking water for Rayalaseema and also surrounding areas of Karnataka and parts of Telangana, the areas will survive due to the backwaters of Srisailam reservoir through Handri Neeva Sujala Shravanathi irrigation project meeting the needs of Rayalaseema region during the present irrigation year.

In the current season, Tungabhadra had the worst 10 years' average storage inflows. On Wednesday, only 36.70 TMC ft of water was available at TB dam with inflows of 23,051 cusecs, as against 99.16 TMC ft last year. Board authorities has assessed that there will be cut in allocations under HLMC (High Level Main Canal), Low Level Canal (LLC), power canal and other canals because of poor storage during present season.

Anantapur, Kurnool Kadapa along with Bellary and Raichur districts of Karnataka depend on Tungabhadra reservoir for irrigation and drinking water. Anantapur has a large number of drinking water projects and summer storage tanks as it falls in the rain shadow zone.

The HNSS project has turned into a major alternative source for Rayalaseema and is meeting the region's needs of drinking water and is also helping irrigation partially.

An average of 15 TMC ft was being drawn through pumping of water from lift canals from Malyala in Nandikotkur mandal towards Jeedipalli reservoir in Beluguppa mandal in Anantapur district for the past five years.

The irrigation authorities of Srisailam dam released water towards HNSS main canal. Water level recorded 126.66 TMC ft at the Srisailam reservoir against the total storage capacity of 215 TMC ft on Wednesday evening with constant inflows of 2,37,767 cusecs.

K. Sharma, an irrigation analyst, said that the access to Srisailam backwaters through HNSS canal would cover the loss from TB reservoir this year too.

“Irrigation tanks and connecting reservoirs under phase-I and II of HNSS project in Kurnool, Anantapur and Chittoor will get filled with Krishna water,” he said and added that majority of tanks were converted as summer storage tanks as priority was being given to drinking water needs.

HNSS engineers are hoping that there are at least 15 TMC ft of allocations to the main canal following flood discharge from Karnataka into Srisailam reservoir during the present season.