Andhra Pradesh to suffer huge loss if Karnataka raises Almatti dam

Vijayawada: The statement made by Karnataka Water Resources Minister D K Siva Kumar in the State assembly three days ago that Karnataka Government would raise the Almatti dam height from 519.60 metres to 524.25 metres has been ringing alarm bells for Andhra Pradesh as the state will stand to lose heavily if Karnataka goes ahead with the proposal. Replying to a question in Karnataka Assembly, Minister Siva Kumar stated that the state government would march ahead with the proposals if Union Government gives nod for it.

If the Karnataka Government increases the height of Almatti reservoir, Andhra Pradesh will suffer a huge loss because, the state is mainly depending on Krishna and Godavari basins for irrigation and drinking water needs. The state has built at least five important reservoirs on the Krishna river and they form the backbone for the Krishna Delta and Rayalaseema regions. If the height of Almatti dam is raised, sooner than later, entire Rayalaseema would turn into a desert. Jurala, Tungabhadra, Narayanpur, Srisailam, Nagarjunasagar and Pulichintala are main reservoirs on the Krishna river in Andhra Pradesh.

Water received by the catchment areas of these projects is not sufficient to meet the requirements of the State. Water received from Almatti dam is very important to the State, said K V L Chowdary, superintending Engineer, Krishna Delta region. He told The Hans India the state mainly depends on Krishna and Godavari basins for irrigation, drinking water and other purposes. Nagarjunasagar has storage capacity of 312 tmc feet of water and Srisailam 215 tmc ft, Pulichintala 45.77 tmc ft, Narayanapur 37 tmc ft, Jurala 9.6 tmc ft of water.

Almatti has height of 519 metres with storage capacity of 129 tmc feet of water and the Karnataka Government has been trying to increase height to 524 metres. The five metres height will have huge impact on Andhra Pradesh. Water Resources Minister D Umamaheswara Rao responding to the statement said that the water resources department is collecting information on the statement made by his counterpart in Karnataka. Nagarjunasagar, one of the important reservoirs on the Krishna river, has received 180 tmc ft of water this season. If the Karnataka government raised the dam height, it will have an adverse impact on the state, said Y Kesava Rao, president of Andhra Pradesh Rytu sangham.

Srisailam reservoir got 882 tmcft of water against the full storage level of 885 tmcft this rainy season. This was possible due to release of water from Almatti reservoir. If water is not released from Almatti, Srisailam may not get water. It will badly affect the backward Rayalaseema region.