Babli barrage gates opened to allow Godavari inflows into SRSP till October

All 14 gates of Babli Barrage were opened to release Godavari water to SRSP in line with the Supreme Court’s directive. The release, supervised by Telangana, Maharashtra and CWC, supports irrigation and drinking water supply till October 2025.

Hyderabad: All 14 gates of the Babli Barrage in Dharmabad taluk of Nanded district, Maharashtra, were opened on Tuesday at 9:38 am, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling allowing the flow of Godavari river water to the Sriramsagar Project (SRSP).

This move is aimed at supporting the drinking water needs of Nizamabad, Adilabad, and other districts in Telangana. The gates will remain open until October 28 this year, ensuring that monsoon inflows reach the SRSP. The process is being supervised by officials from Maharashtra, Telangana and the Central Water Commission (CWC).

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Officials noted that the present storage in the Babli Barrage is the lowest in recent years. Irrigation department data indicates that on the same date, the storage stood at 0.2 tmcft last year, 0.47 tmcft in 2023, and as low as 0.04 tmcft in 2022.

With the gates lifted, water stored in the barrage along with monsoon inflows is expected to bolster SRSP levels. As of Tuesday, SRSP had 15.67 tmcft of water against its full capacity of 80.50 tmcft, with current inflows measured at 1,800 cusecs. This water is vital for irrigating over 9.6 lakh acres and meeting the drinking water requirements of Telangana.

The Babli Barrage has long been a contentious issue between the two states, but its management is now governed by the Supreme Court’s directive to ensure equitable water sharing.