10 Lift Pumps of HNSS Opened to Release Water
Main canal widening increases inflow to Jeedipalli, aids irrigation across key districts
Anantapur: The Handri Neeva Sujata Shravathi, a major source of water for the Rayalaseema region, has raised 10 lift pumps at Ragulapadu as against 12 pumps in Vajrakarur mandal in Anantapur district.
This was for the first time that the lifting was done following widening of the main canal from zero mile stone at Malyala to the backwater point of the Srisailam project in Nandyal district.
The widening of the main canal helps increase inflows of 3150 cusecs towards the Jeedipalli reservoir in Anantapur district as part of phase-I.
The 8th pump house at Ragulapadu in Vajrakarur mandal has 12 lift irrigation pumps. The irrigation authorities lifted as many as 12 pumps towards Jeedipalli reservoir for the first time.
A senior official from the HNSS project recalled they lifted only six pumps in previous years because of poor inflows. But, after the main canal of HNSS was widened, the 10 pumps are operating to release more water downstream.
As a result, the Kuppam in Chittoor district, native constituency of chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, would get water through the HNSS canal under phase-II via Dharmavaram and Kadiri of Satya Sai districts.
The HNSS canal is helping irrigate additional acreage during the present season.
The CPI made a plea to fill the Penna Ahobilum balancing reservoir with 11tmc-ft and also fill 49 big irrigation tanks in Anantapur and Satya Sai districts to avoid water shortage in the coming seasons. CPI district secretary Jagfar pleaded that the government provide 40tmc-ft of water through the HNSS project to till tail end parts of the canal along with the release to the branch canals.
HNSS water is the only source of drinking water for the Rayalaseema region, he observed.
