Irrigation Board To Prioritise Drinking Water Due to Short Supply in Reservoirs
Water scarcity prompts focus on drinking water as officials plan 80-day utilisation
Anantapur: The Irrigation Advisory Board (IAB) has decided to allocate 8 TMC feet of water for irrigated dry (ID) crops covering 40,000 acres under the Tungabhadra High Level Main Canal (HLMC) in Anantapur district. The board has advised farmers not to cultivate paddy and chilli this year due to water scarcity.
AP finance and planning minister Payyavula Keshav, who attended the IAB meeting at the Anantapur collectorate on Tuesday, declared that drinking water requirements will be given top priority, with adequate reserves maintained in the state’s reservoirs for supplying drinking water until July 31, 2027.
Keshav underlined that the state government had been cautioning farmers for the past two months against cultivating water-intensive crops. He directed irrigation officials to prepare and implement an 80-day water utilisation plan and ensure that Tungabhadra Dam water is available until November 10. If necessary, efforts would be made to prevail upon the Karnataka government to extend the release of water by another 10 to 15 days, he stated.
The minister said state government has decided to stop power generation from Srisailam and utilise the available water only for drinking purposes. He pointed out that all 33 gates of the Tungabhadra Dam have been replaced in a single season, making it an “All-India record”. He pointed out that eight bridges on the HLC have been reconstructed at a cost of ₹30–35 crore to facilitate smooth water flow.
Keshav directed irrigation officials to conduct field-level awareness campaigns and hold weekly press briefings on the water situation. He maintained that farmers should be persuaded through awareness rather than coercive measures.
Speaking on the occasion, collector O. Anand said an estimated 10.32 TMC feet of water is currently available. Of this, 6.3 TMC feet has been proposed for drinking water and 4.02 TMC feet for irrigation. The drinking water allocation includes 3 TMC feet for PABR, 2.4 TMC feet for MPR (Mid Pennar Dam), 0.4 TMC for HLMC, and 0.5 TMC for Guntakal Branch Canal.
The collector pointed out that July and August recorded rainfall deficits of 55 per cent and 70 per cent respectively, leaving local water sources largely un-replenished. Around 800 villages in neighbouring Sri Sathya Sai district also depend on PABR and related schemes for drinking water, he pointed out.
Government whip in assembly Kalava Srinivasulu said the state’s share from HLMC is around 16 TMC feet from the Tungabhadra reservoir. Of this, nearly 2 TMC has already been utilised. Srinivasulu asked officials to clearly communicate the water position to farmers and prevent losses from cultivation of water-intensive crops.
