Kaleshwaram: Early inflows prove KCR’s point
Govt’s stand on redesigning vindicated with Medigadda under KLIS receiving 65,000 cusecs from Pranahitha in June itself
Hyderabad: Just how crucial is the redesign element in the mega Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme has come to the fore again when the Lakshmi (Medigadda) barrage, the first of several structures to capture and store water from the Godavari and its tributaries, started receiving heavy inflows much ahead of the usual inflow season in July.
With the onset of the monsoon, the water levels in the barrage increased by five metres following heavy inflows from the Pranahitha in the last five days, officials said. Pranahitha is one of the major tributaries of the Godavari that was left unharnessed in the past, and a simple tweak in the project design by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao resulted in the KLIS turning Telangana into a green State in a matter of few years.
Medigadda barrage Executive Engineer Ch Tirupati Rao told ‘Telangana Today’ that with inflows into the barrage increasing, water is being discharged into the Saraswathi barrage through four pumps. The water level at the Medigadda barrage was 98.6 metres, just short of its full reservoir level of 100 metres.
“We have been receiving inflows of over 65,000 cusecs from the Pranahitha for the last few days, and as and when the inflows increase, more water will be pumped into the Saraswathi (Annaram) barrage,” Tirupati Rao explained.
“We have been releasing over 8,400 cusecs into the Saraswathi barrage since Wednesday,” he said. From this barrage, the water will reach the Parvati barrage (Sundilla) and later to Yellampally, Nandi and Gayatri pumphouses before reaching the Mid Manair Dam (MMD). The actual distribution of water to various reservoirs and water bodies begins from the MMD.
“We are expecting more inflows from the Pranahitha since there is a forecast of rains in Vidarbha, Maharashtra,” the Executive Engineer said, adding that inflows might not drop drastically but have some fluctuations.
Based on 40-year data collected by officials, heavy inflows from the Pranahitha usually come during the second week of July when the monsoon picks up every year. But this time around, Medigadda is witnessing inflows of as much as 65,000 cusecs from the Pranahitha in June itself.
Irrigation officials said major reservoirs in the Krishna and Godavari basins had also started receiving inflows. In the Krishna basin, the Jurala project in Jogulamba-Gadwal district had been receiving an average inflow of 7,355 cusecs for the last 24 hours, followed by Srisailam (6,568 cusecs) and Nagarjunasagar (1,817 cusecs).
In the Godavari basin, Singur had been receiving 656 cusecs on an average for the last 24 hours and Nizamsagar (357 cusecs) and Sriramsagar (15,360 cusecs), MMD (150 cusecs) and Lower Manair Dam (267 cusecs), Kaddam (341 cusecs) and Sripada Yellampally (4,487 cusecs).
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said 23 districts in Telangana registered large excess rainfall from June 1 to 17 while five districts registered excess rainfall, two districts saw normal and three recorded deficit rainfall.
It said Telangana might see heavy rain with thunderstorms and lightning coupled with strong surface winds in the next few days.
