Tungabhadra Canals To Get Water For 90 Days Amid Tight Storage

Koppal: With 82 TMC of water currently available in the Tungabhadra reservoir and 10 TMC having to be kept aside for drinking water needs, the Irrigation Consultative Committee decided to release water to the project’s canals for 90 days for now, instead of the 120 days sought by farmers and elected representatives.

Another meeting would be held on September 10 to review the situation and discuss further water releases.

The decision was taken at the 126th Irrigation Consultative Committee meeting of the Tungabhadra Project and Vijayanagara canals chaired by Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi. The meeting was held at Munirabad on Tuesday. The committee arrived at the decision after considering the present storage, expected inflows, drinking water requirements and the demand from farmers for a longer irrigation window.

Officials told the meeting that another 16 TMC of water would be required if canal supplies were to be continued for 120 days.

Farmers and elected representatives had pressed for a longer release period. Minister B Nagendra and MLAs JN Ganesh and BM Nagaraj suggested that water should be supplied to the canals for at least 120 days in view of the farmers’ requirements. MLAs from Koppal, Raichur and Vijayanagara districts also urged the authorities to release water without delay. Farmer leaders had made a similar demand during a meeting held in the morning.

After considering the views of the farmers and people’s representatives, the committee unanimously decided to begin with a 90-day release based on the water currently available.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi said farmers had first been consulted on the issue and the views of elected representatives from the region were subsequently sought.

He said the government could assure farmers of canal water for 90 days based on the present storage. Any decision on extending the release beyond this period would depend on rainfall and the inflows into the reservoir in the coming weeks.

“Based on the water currently available in the reservoir, we can guarantee farmers water for 90 days at present. The decision on releasing water beyond this period will be based on rainfall and water availability in the coming days,” the minister said.

He said another meeting would be held on September 10 to review the situation and discuss further water releases.

Water will be released to the Tungabhadra Left Bank Main Canal at 4,100 cusecs a day from August 11 to November 10, while the Right Bank Upper Level Canal and Right Bank Lower Level Canal will receive 1,200 cusecs and 650 cusecs a day, respectively, during the same period.

The Rayabasavanna Canal will receive an average of 180 cusecs from January 1 to December 10, 2026, subject to water availability. The Tungabhadra Left Bank Upper Level Canal will receive 25 cusecs a day from August 11 to November 10, or until the reservoir level falls/reaches 1,585 feet, whichever is earlier. River supplementation for tanks has also been approved from August 11 to 17.

The committee made it clear that supplies to all the canals would continue only until the stipulated date or as long as water remained available, whichever comes first. In case of a significant change in reservoir inflows, either an increase or decrease, the committee will meet again on September 10 to review the situation and issue a revised water-release schedule.