Collector Venkata Ramana Reddy checks availability of water in reservoirs, TG canal

Tirupati: As a follow up to the district Irrigation Advisory Board meeting which decided to provide water to farmers for taking up kharif crop beginning from June, the district collector K Venkata Ramana Reddy along with senior irrigation department officials on Saturday made a day-long inspection of reservoirs including Kandaleru Reservoir and also

Telugu Ganga Water Supply for irrigation and drinking water supply in the two districts including Tirupati and Nellore.

At Kandaleru Reservoir(in Nellore district) in which 40.72 TMC feet water is available against the reservoir storage capacity of 60.03 TMC feet. The collector discussed with irrigation officials and also Rapur MPP (Mandal Praja Parishad) president Balakrishna Reddy and others on supply of water for irrigation and drinking water purposes. It may be noted here that the reservoir provides 15 TMC ft of water through the Kandaleru-Poondi canal (Telugu Ganga canal) to Chennai metropolitan city for drinking water as agreement between the riparian states, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. This apart, the reservoir, which is the longest earthen dam with 10,75

km length, the longest in Asia, also provides water for irrigation covering about three lakh acres in Nellore and Chittoor districts. Irrigation officials explained to the collector that 1,700 cusecs of water is being released daily to meet the drinking water requirement including to Chennai and also various towns and villages in the two districts.

In his day long inspection, he visited Satyasai Ganga Regulator in Dekkali mandal from where water is released to (Satyasai) Telugu Ganga canal and also the water flow in Telugu Ganga at Velikallu, the Escape Channel at Chenna Samudram, the regulator at Utlapalli between Naidupeta and Venkatagiri from where 0.28 TMC ft water is supplied to Naidupet SEZ (Special Economic Zone). He also inspected the Kasaram regulator from where water is provided to the two premier educational institutions - IIT and IISER, near Yerpedu, the Escape Channel at Chinnakanaparthy and also the areas under Swarnamukhi Ayacut.

Later he inspected the Balaji reservoir under construction and also Mallemadugu reservoir near Renigunta. He sought the irrigation officials to submit a report on Mallemadugu reservoir, which is solely dependent on rainwater from Tirumala hills.

It may be recalled that the IAB and also the Agriculture Advisory Board urged the farmers to take up less water intensive groundnut and millet crops in the kharif season keeping in view the limited water available in the reservoirs. Irrigation senior officials including Ramagopal (Superintendent Engineer), Executive Engineer Radha Krishna, Renigunta Tahsildar Sivaprasad and other officials accompanied the collector.