3 TMC Ft Of Tungabhadra Water Reaches Telangana
KC Canal in AP to receive 1 TMC ft by Oct. 31 for Kurnool’s needs
Around 3 TMC ft of water released from the Tungabhadra Dam towards the Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS) has reached Telangana, while the Kurnool-Cuddapah (KC) Canal in Andhra Pradesh is expected to receive 1 TMC ft by October 31 to meet irrigation and drinking water requirements in Kurnool city and adjoining areas.
The Telangana government had requested Karnataka to release water into the RDS channel at the Kurnool district border to meet drinking water needs in Mahabubnagar and other areas in view of the El Niño impact. Karnataka recommended allocating 3 TMC ft from the Tungabhadra reservoir.
Despite the reservoir level being around 43 TMC ft, the dam authorities released about 2,000 cusecs towards the RDS through Hampi, the Raichur border and Mantralayam in Kurnool district last week.
Tungabhadra Dam superintendent engineer K. Narayana Naik told Deccan Chronicle that water had been released according to the allocation and that Telangana had received 3 TMC ft a couple of days ago.
Meanwhile, 1 TMC ft of water was released towards the KC Canal through the Tungabhadra riverbed from October 25. The allocated quantity is expected to reach the canal by October 31. Water will be stored in summer storage tanks to meet drinking water needs in Kurnool city and nearby areas.
Water flow has been reported in several stretches of the Tungabhadra river, including Hampi, Bichale in Raichur district and Mantralayam. Normally, the KC Canal allocation is released after adjusting the quota for the High Level Main Canal.
The Tungabhadra reservoir, meanwhile, has only about 45 TMC ft of storage, around 42 per cent of its capacity, with no inflows from upstream areas. Dam authorities said about 12,000 cusecs was being released towards dependent canals and into the river.