Wanaparthy tops in groundwater level in State

Wanaparthy: Wanaparthy district, which was once known for drought, deserted farms and migration of people in search of livelihood, has been completely transformed into a green belt. With Check dams, canals and lift irrigation facilities, today, the ground water level has improved drastically.

According to a recent report by the groundwater department, Wanaparthy has emerged as the number one district with the highest groundwater level which is available at just 3.50 meters below the ground level, while the district of Medak has the least ground water availability at 14.87 meters below the ground level. The report also reflected that the average groundwater across 33 districts is at 10 meters below the ground level.

The point of discussion and the factors that led to the drastic improvement of ground water in Wanaparthy is quite interesting. Prior to formation of new State of Telangana, Wanaparthy district which was part of erstwhile Mahbubnagar witnessed groundwater used to be below more than 25 to 33 meters. From this low level, the district has improved its groundwater remarkably and today the entire Wanaparthy district has been transformed into a green belt.

According to Ground Water Department official Raghupati Reddy and local public representatives and the people at large in Wanaparthy that main credit for improving of groundwater goes to Agriculture Minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy, who is also nick named as 'Neella Niranjan'.

In his own words, the Agriculture Minister says that his fight right from the beginning of Telangana movement was to bring water. If water is available for irrigation and drinking more than 90 per cent problems will be removed in society. "My fight is for the goal I believe in. We are working for a change in people's lives. More than 85-90 per cent of people in rural areas depend on farming and agriculture and this needs water. For this to be achieved we have left no stone unturned to bring water to Wanaparthy district." said Singireddy.

"Apart from taking up the small, medium and large irrigation projects, we had also focused on building check dams, renovation of ponds and lakes and digging of canals across the district. In just 45 days we built 6 check dams initially in Wanaparthy, after learning about this, Chief Minister had sanctioned 10 more check dams to district. Overall we have spent more than Rs 25 crores to construct check dams and this has helped improved the ground water level drastically," observed the Agriculture Minister.

The Minister also remarked that unlike earlier where politicians in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh used to construct a drain or a community hall and used to claim development. But after formation of Telangana, real development has been witnessed in Telangana which is reflected in the improvement of livelihoods of the poor farmers and created employment to the labourers and peasants in the rural areas.

With groundwater improved, greenery increased many aquatic animals like quails, birds and other living creatures, which had disappeared for decades are now reappearing. Currently Wanaparthy district receives water from Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigation, Bheema Lift irrigation and Jurala Project canals, this apart, water stocking by the Check dams, ponds, lakes and reservoirs has enabled the district to become the groundwater reserve of Telangana with water available just below 3 meters of ground level.

The Agriculture Minister stressed that the Dattayapally canal work which was stopped temporarily because of elections, has now once again resumed. With a cost of Rs. 18.66 crores this canal is being constructed to bring water from Dattayapally to Khan Pond and with the support of every one if this canal is completed irrigation water will be provided to 5000 acres covering the villages of Sawaigudem, Kishtagiri, Peddagudem, Dattaipalli and Davajipalli in the district, he sad.

"Overall, we have set up 60 mini lift schemes in the constituency to irrigate the upland areas. This apart we are preparing a plan for the development of Wanaparthy Tirumalaiya Gutta and ensure that Wanaparthy will never suffer due to shortage of water in the future," observed the Minister.