NSP Left Canal water for Zone I likely in August first week

The schedules typically depend on the water levels in the reservoirs and the inflow of water.

Hyderabad: The irrigation schedule for the ayacut under Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar projects will be finalised soon. The schedules typically depend on the water levels in the reservoirs and the inflow of water.

No water was given for irrigation to the Nagarjuna Sagar Project ayacut in Telangana last year. For want of significant inflows a crop holiday was declared by the State government.

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Since the present storage in both the projects could be built to comfortable levels with the heavy inflows that are likely to continue for more than a fortnight, the KRMB will work out the irrigation needs for Kharif in coordination with the irrigation officials of the two states.

Andhra Pradesh has already started drawing nearly 20,000 cusecs from the Pothireddypadu head regulators to meet its irrigation needs. The drawls being made by AP were on ad hoc basis pending the approval of the KRMB. The river management board is likely to ask for fresh indents from both the states for the Kharif season.

So far as the Irrigation schedule for Nagarjuna Sagar project is concerned, water release is likely to be considered for NSP Left Canal Zone- I in the first week of August. Subsequent releases to Zone II will be considered in a gap of two to three weeks.

The NSP water level is still below the Minimum Drawdown Level (MDDL) of 510 feet. Since an inflow of over two lakh cusecs were expected for the next two days, it would help build the present storage by at least 25 to 30 TMC. It will facilitate release of water to the left canal and right canal, said officials. About 25 TMC of water is needed for meeting the drinking water needs under the project for the next two months, they added.