VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday wrote to Union minister for Jal Shakthi Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to consider providing Central assistance to take up a scheme to divert water from Godavari river to Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar reservoirs and to provide required funds as the Scheme will make water available for irrigation needs, drinking water and industrial requirements for the backward and drought prone districts of Andhra Pradesh, by stabilising Krishna Ayacut.
Mr Reddy said that in order to explore various alternatives feasible for diversion of water from Godavari River to Srisailam and Nagarjuna-sagar reservoirs, an Expert Committee has been constituted with in service and retired engineers/experts of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh States. It has been proposed to supplement around 480 TMC of Godavari water to Krishna river reservoir, by diverting at the rate of 4 TMC per day, from Godavari river to Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar for 120 days during the flood of Godavari. The proposed scheme ‘Diversion of Godavari water to Srisailam and Nagarjun-asagar reservoirs’ can be taken up through suitable agreements between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for the mutual benefit of both states, to transfer the water into Srisailam Dam and Nagarjunasagar Dam, which are joint properties of both the states, he said.
In the letter, Mr Reddy said that Godavari River has approximately 2,500 TMC. ft. of surplus water at Pranahita confluence, Indravati confluence.-
In Telangana and around 600 TMC. ft. at Shabari confluence in Andhra Pradesh.
This entire flow of 3,000 TMC, 80 pc of which is approximately 2,500 TMC happens in four months during July, August, September and October months. Thus, if this water is tapped into Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar Reservoirs when Godavari is in spate by inter-linking of rivers, then that would mitigate the misery of drought prone Rayalaseema districts and Prakasam district and stabilise Krishna Ayacut.
“Therefore, Godavari-Krishna link by lifting water from a mutually agreed location in Telangana state on River Godavari and dropping it in Nagarjunasagar and Srisailam reservoirs will be the only solution for this problem,” Jagan said.
