Telangana’s water bodies filled to the brim
Irrigation officials point out that the sight of brimming water bodies in Telangana in mid-August was more of a mirage in the past, but it was actually taking place now
Hyderabad: Telangana, often described as a backward, drought-hit and parched region not so long ago, wears an entirely different look now, with water bodies including major and minor irrigation projects, villages tanks and lakes brimming with water, thanks to the aggressive initiatives of the State government in the past seven years. Besides the mega Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme and other major projects, minor irrigation schemes and rejuvenation of village tanks under Mission Bhagiratha also played a major role in the transformation.
Irrigation officials point out that the sight of brimming water bodies in Telangana in mid-August was more of a mirage in the past, but it was actually taking place now. Almost all the village tanks and lakes across the State were brimming with water and minor irrigation projects were close to their Full Reservoir Levels as on Tuesday.
While officials at the major projects are maintaining a constant vigil on the water levels before lifting gates again, the medium irrigation projects are receiving heavy inflows prompting authorities to be on high alert if the same weather conditions continue for the next few days. Since many tanks and lakes in erstwhile Adilabad and Khammam districts are receiving surplus water, officials have begun releasing water downstream.
Minor irrigation projects in Godavari basin in at least nine districts, mostly in erstwhile Adilabad and Khammam districts, had almost touched their FRLs on Tuesday morning. Vattivagu, NTR Sagar, PP Rao Project, Sri Komaram Bheem Project and Peddavagu Jagannathpur medium irrigation project in Kumram Bheem Asifabad, and Wyra and Lanka Sagar in Khammam were filled to the brim, officials said.
Khammam Irrigation Chief Engineer G Shankar Naik told Telangana Today that all the irrigation projects and tanks were filled to the brim. Since Paleru Balancing Reservoir (PBR), Wyra and Lanka Sagar medium irrigation projects were receiving surplus water, 24 gates of PBR and two gates of Wyra medium irrigation project were opened while surplus water was let out from the sluices of Lanka Sagar project.
Naik said 90 per cent of the total 1,409 tanks in Khammam were completely filled while the remaining were filled between 75 per cent and 80 per cent of water level. The department is also meeting the requirements of farmers in the district. “We are supplying water to 2.59 lakh acres of agriculture land under PBR, 17,390 acres under Wyra project and 7,350 acres under Lanka Sagar since August 5,” Naik said.
The same situation prevails in Adilabad district. Nirmal Irrigation Superintending Engineer D Susheel Kumar said all the projects were completely filled.
Irrigation department officials said the water bodies were filled to capacity in mid-August against the normal September end and attributed this to not only early monsoon but also to the initiatives of the State government. “We are witnessing this kind of early monsoon after 20 years,” an official said.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), with Southwest monsoon active over Telangana, heavy rainfall occurred at a few places in Khammam and Kumaram Bheem-Asifabad districts and at isolated places in Mancherial.
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