Telangana: Water woes persist as Devadula Lift Irrigation fails to fill reservoirs

Water woes continue to haunt the farming community in the command area of the project even as Godavari, its sole source for drawls, had bountiful flood flows right from June

Hyderabad: A majority of the reservoirs and tanks that are to be fed by the Devadula Lift Irrigation project have drawn a blank in terms of inflows so far this year.

Water woes continue to haunt the farming community in the command area of the project even as Godavari, its sole source for drawls, had bountiful flood flows right from June.

---

Not to speak of irrigation, even the drinking water needs are yet to be addressed fully in the targeted command that is dotted today with widespread dry stretches. Water levels in tanks touched the dead storage while the farmers, uncertain of kharif, were getting restive.

The Lift Scheme has been designed to draw water from the Godavari River to irrigate over 6.21 lakh acres in the upland drought prone areas in the erstwhile Karimnagar, Warangal and Nalgonda districts is yet to be put into operation. But only a few of the pumping units in phase III of the project have been put to operation recently

The lift scheme had hitherto been facing operational challenges due to insufficient water levels in the Godavari even during monsoon seasons. Much in contrast with the previous year flows, over 1970 TMC of water had flown down the river at Devadula. But the water utilised by the Lift Irrigation project so far this year was just a trickle.

The project has as many as 20 pumping units in its three phases with a capacity to lift 5200 cusecs. They feed as many as 36 irrigation tanks. The lift irrigation project has potential to extend the supplies even to the Lower Manair Project and even beyond.

The storage in the irrigation sources in many of the mandals of Jangaon district including R S Ghanpur, Raghunathpalli, Palakurthy, Devaruppala, Lingala Ghanpur, Gundala and Kodakandla dipped to the critical levels.

So is the case with the water sources in Aler and Mothkur mandals of the Yadadri Bhongir district.

The present storage in Chitakodur reservoir as on August 14 was 115 MCFT as against the gross storage capacity of 300 MCFT. The inflows received from the lift were zero. Whatever little water it had received was only from its own catchment.

The status of Gandiramaram reservoir was no better. The present storage was only 247 MCFT as against the gross storage capacity of 400 MCFT. Its inflows are only nine cumecs.

The outflows from Dharmasagar, which was even a drinking water source for the local communities, were zero so far. The Ashwaraopally reservoir has 238 MCFT as part of its present storage as against the gross storage capacity of 740 MCFT.

The R S Ghanpur reservoir received no inflows so far. The Chitakoduru and Bommakur reservoirs dipped to the dead storage levels. The Tapaspally tank level touched the lowest levels, which was unusual for it during monsoons.

BRS leader and former irrigation minister (in the undivided State), Ponnala Lakshmaiah voiced concern over the dipping water level in the irrigation sources that were depending on the Devadula Lift Irrigation scheme.

Coming down heavily on the Congress government for its failure to utilise Godavari river water by leaving the Devadula lift scheme idle, he said that only a lone pumping unit was put to operation two days ago in phase III under the pressure of the farmers.

Questioning the government for not operating all the pumping units making use of the full potential of Devadula, he said it would have a bearing on the farm sector in the command. Devadula water should be used even for filling the Lower Manair Dam directly.

There is no need to wait for the water pumped out from Yellamapllai to Mid Manair to reach LMD. Leaving the Devadula ayacut to the vagaries monsoon by keeping its pumping units idle would be a crime against the farmers, he cautioned.