Uttam Kumar Reddy directs cautious water release for irrigation

Despite high water storage in the Krishna and Godavari basins, the Telangana government has ruled out broad-based water releases for agriculture. Officials were asked to consider usable storage, reliable inflows and drinking water needs before deciding on irrigation releases

Hyderabad: Despite water storage reaching 76.63 per cent in the Krishna basin and 68.1 per cent in the Godavari basin, the Congress government has decided against any broad-based release of water for agriculture. The government attributed the decision to uncertainty over future inflows and the need to prioritise drinking water.

The Krishna basin reservoirs have 746.12 TMCft against a total capacity of 973.68 TMCft, while the Godavari basin has 208.38 TMCft against 306.20 TMCft. Nagarjuna Sagar alone has about 164 TMCft, with scope to receive another 47 per cent of its capacity in floodwaters.

---

At a high-level review at Jalasoudha on Tuesday, Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy directed officials to base water releases on actual usable storage and reliable inflows rather than expectations of heavy rainfall in September and October. He cautioned officials against treating the gross storage percentages as an indication of abundant water availability. They were asked to account for live storage, committed requirements and the water actually available for irrigation before taking release decisions.

He said drinking water must remain the first priority, while crops should be protected wherever dependable water sources were available. He also ordered priority repairs to Singur reservoir, a review of SLBC tunnel works and stronger technical and legal preparations on inter-State water disputes.

Officials were directed to examine water availability in several reservoirs, including Devadula, Nizamsagar, Lower Manair and Sri Ram Sagar Project (SRSP), and take up irrigation releases wherever feasible.