Hyderabad: New drip irrigation system helps HMDA save Rs 41 cr

Hyderabad: The new 'drip irrigation system' along the 158-km stretch of Outer Ring Road (ORR) taken up by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) saves 6 lakh litres of water and also saves Rs 41.34 crore, the maintenance cost of plantation spread over the ORR.

Earlier during watering by tankers average expenditure per year including maintenance was Rs 20 crore. Now due to introduction of drip irrigation system average expenditure per year including maintenance is estimated as Rs 14 crore. There is cost saving of Rs 6 crore per year. Earlier the maintenance of greenery at ORR was costing Rs 139.42 crore for seven years and with the new technology it will cost Rs 98.32 crore for seven years saving Rs 41.34 crore for 7 years.

The drip irrigation system has been taken up in (5) packages and (62) blocks with project cost of Rs 47 crore including (7) years of maintenance. In the entire ORR, so far 63,13,503 plants have already been planted.

According to Special Chief Secretary Arvind Kumar, all these days, the plantations are maintained by watering manually through tankers, but watering through tankers was costly and not safe to watering workers on ORR and also leads to wastage of water hence watering through 'drip system' has been proposed. Special Chief Secretary said, "For effective watering total 94 borewells and 92 sumps are required. Water is pumped and discharged through network of pipes and to the root of plants directly by drips connected on pipes."

Adding that he said a total 3 +3 +3 drip lines are provided each on left side, median and right side of ORR including interchanges covering hedge, shrub and avenue plantation totaling to approx 1500 kms of drip lines. Also, sprinkler system is provided at Nanakramguda central median and other pockets, said Kumar.

The drip irrigation system is also integrated with Automation Technology SCADA. With the use of supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) technology a system of software and hardware elements that allows to control the maintenance processes locally or at remote locations. The drip irrigation on ORR is programmed for daily watering and as per scheduled timings the irrigation is done automatically and controlled from a single control room. According to the Urban Forestry Department Director Prabhakar, the remote-controlled irrigation systems using SCADA saves a lot of time and money, quick response to the issues, proactive maintenance, detailed reporting etc. It detects any failure or leakage in system along with timely switching on and off. Seasonal variation of water demand can be monitored and adjusted through SCADA system.

For manual watering by tankers total 107.6 ML of water per month was used (4,304 tankers). Now by drip system total 89.3 ML of water per month is discharged (equivalent to 3,572 tankers). The new technology saving of 18.3 ML of water per month which is 731 tankers per month and 6,09,453 litres of water per day equivalent to 24 tankers less per day.

Apart from above monetary benefits and water saving, drip system also provides minimal manual intervention, uniform distribution of water throughout the year, sustainable and environment friendly. The system is also timely and effective watering to plants which ensures greenery rejuvenation and fast growth.