The water resources department on Sunday released 1,000 cusecs of water from the Eastern Head Regulator of Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada for Kharif season.: Reports
VIJAYAWADA: The water resources department on Sunday released 1,000 cusecs of water from the Eastern Head Regulator of Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada for Kharif season. Of the water released into the Krishna Eastern Delta, 700 cusecs was directed into the Ryvas Canal and 300 cusecs into the Bandaru Canal.
The water was released following special poojas led by government whips Bonda Uma Maheswara Rao (Vijayawada Central MLA), Yarlagadda Venkata Rao (Gannavaram MLA), Avanigadda MLA Mandali Buddha Prasad, NTR district collector Dr G Lakshmisha, engineer-in-chief K. Narasimha Murthy, Krishna delta chief engineer P. Rambabu and and Superintending Engineer (Vijayawada) R. Mohana Rao.
MLA Uma emphasised the government’s commitment to timely irrigation. He said 7.40 lakh acres of farmland would benefit from this release and that farmers are satisfied with the TD-led government.
"We are focusing on supporting farmers with timely water supply, fertilisers, seeds, remunerative crop prices and direct deposit of procurement payments," he said.
MLA Venkata Rao clarified that the Krishna District Irrigation Advisory Board had scheduled the release for June 10 but it was postponed to June 15 in consideration of farmers' preparedness. He also alleged that the previous government failed to de-silt canals or remove weeds, contributing to flooding of Budameru canal.
MLA Buddha Prasad stated that Avanigadda being at the tail end of the Krishna Delta, had suffered severe neglect during the previous regime. He mentioned that even slight rainfall would submerge crops. He credited the present coalition government for restoring canal infrastructure and ensuring water availability well before sowing begins.
NTR collector Lakshmisha advised farmers to take advantage of the early water release by promptly beginning the preparations of seed beds and sowing paddy plantation operations. This, he said, would help them avoid damage from potential storms in the season.
Krishna Eastern Delta project committee chairman Devanaboina Venkateswara Rao, vice chairman Valluripalli Ganesh, Lal Bahadur Nagarjuna Sagar Left Canal Project vice chairman Alla Venkata Gopala Krishna Rao, executive engineers Ravella Ravi Kiran, B Anjaneya Prasad, and others were present.
