Poor storage in reservoir, reduced flows upset farmers in Rayalaseema region

ANANTAPUR: Poor storage along with reduced inflows from upstream areas of the Krishna basin at Srisailam reservoir is causing tense moments for the farmers in the Rayalaseema region.

Farmers started mounting pressure on the government, seeking justice for those in drought-hit areas, who faced serious drinking water and irrigation problems throughout the year. At the same time, the TS government was reportedly toying with a plan to draw water from the dam for power generation, they said.

Farmers under the KC Canal are seeking justice for the dependent areas of the Srisailam dam.

On Friday, Srisailam recorded only 111 tmc-ft of water as against a gross storage capacity of 211tmc-ft.

Even though this is the right time for rainfall, the southwest monsoon passed through the upstream parts of Karnataka in the Krishna basin and the Srisailam dam could be filled by only 51 per cent of its capacity so far.

“This is the worst condition the TB dam is witnessing vis-a-vis the last 10 years. The dam level was still at 89 tmc-ft as against the normal 104, during the present season, and the entire downstream riverbed remained dry at Mantralayam and Raichur areas.

As the farmers were demanding the release of water towards the KC Canal from Srisailam sources, Mydukur MLA S. Raghurami Reddy said a decision will be taken after assessing the water position in Srisailam. "If farmers are assured to release water even before reaching the 880 ft level, there would be a crisis at hand to meet the needs till December,” he said.

Rayalaseema leaders demand that the Krishna board protect the rights of the drought-hit farmers of the tail-end areas by restricting the TS government from excess use or drawal of water during the peak season.