Godavari water for kharif crop; Krishna delta to get 100 tmc ft water
Rajahmundry: Nearly 100 tmc ft of Godavari river water is to be pumped into Krishna delta to help farmers there to raise crop for ensuing kharif season through Pattiseema lift irrigation scheme.
The water resources authorities have taken up the execution of Polavaram Right Main Canal on a priority basis and plan to finish the work by June. The RMC extends over about 189 km distance from Polavaram Head Works to Budameru Diversion Channel. Nearly 100 work items, both major and minor, are yet to be taken up.
As the land acquisition for the canal works has been done, authorities are taking up the works to ensure that they will be completed by the time the Godavari river starts flooding during June/July. Some contractors have been replaced because they were unable to execute the work fast.
As many as 34 works have been identified to develop new structures on RMC and tenders will be called to execute the works. Cement-concrete work on the canal bed and either side of bunds has to be done to across a distance of about 55 km. This work is meant to avoid seepage of water into the ground and to facilitate quick and free flow of water into the canal and to its destination.
The RMC is designed to carry 8,500 cusecs of water to Krishna delta when all 24 gates of Pattiseema lift irrigation scheme are lifted based on availability of water in the Godavari river.
The water resources authorities say that normally, Godavari river witnesses flood season for 157 days in a year and at times, the number of days may be shrunk to only 136 days or even less than that at some times. As the river starts witnessing adequate quantum of inflow of water, the authorities can start pumping water to Krishna delta through RMC based on the need at Krishna delta.
The authorities say that there was no much inflow of water into Krishna delta from Srisailam and Pulichinthala projects in the last season and Godavari water helped the farmers reap good harvest.
Polavaram Right Main Canal project superintending engineer B. Srinivas Yadav said, “We are going to complete all works related to RMC by June and we are expecting to pump nearly 100 tmc ft of Godavari water to Krishna delta during ensuing kharif season to help farmers reap bumper harvest.”
