Good tidings for Telangana, Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad: With incessant rains in the catchment areas and heavy rains in the upper riparian states of Karnataka and Maharashtra, reservoirs on Krishna and Godavari in Telangana are receiving good inflows. Interestingly, the inflow in River Godavari is more than from River Krishna. Water levels in reservoirs on River Godavari have almost reached FRL (full reservoir level) and Krishna projects are brimming with steady inflows.

These good inflows augur well in the wake of the ongoing controversy between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh regarding utilisation of river waters particularly the usage of water from River Krishna. It may be recalled that both the States had complained against each other to Union Jal Shakti Ministry and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had written four letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention. MPs of both Telugu states are gearing up to raise the issue during the monsoon session of Parliament.

According to officials, the mega lift project Kaleshwaram was helping to preserve every drop of rainwater which is being directed into the canals and reservoirs during the heavy rains.

Water level in Sripada Yellampally project on Godavari has reached 484.09 feet against FRL of 485. The water level in Nizam Sagar reservoir touched 1,394 feet as against 1,405 FRL on Wednesday. The other reservoirs, Singur, Sri Ram Sagar, Mid Manair, Lower Manair and Kaddam were also receiving heavy inflows. Sources said that this would help the State in meeting irrigation needs during the kharif season. Similarly, it would help in meeting drinking water requirements in the old Karimnagar, Nizamabd, Adilabad and Warangal districts this year.

Copious inflow in Krishna was helping the steady increase of water levels in the main reservoirs. The release of water from Almatti and Narayanpur in Karnataka has increased water levels in Jurala to 1,609 feet against 1,630 FRL at the entrance of the Krishna in the Telangana State.

Officials said that the other projects on Krishna – Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar and Pulichintala were also receiving good inflows from the catchment areas due to heavy rains for the last three days. Power generation at Sagar and Srisailam Hydel power houses will continue as adequate water is already available in the reservoirs. To prevent any untoward incidents, special teams have been deployed at the project sites to monitor the flood situation from time to time. The authorities were also monitoring the safety of water bodies and canals to check the breach of the structures.