Need to desilt tanks, reservoirs stressed

Anantapur: Desilting of village tanks and reservoirs, including Tungabhadra reservoir, PABR (Penna-Ahobilam Balancing reservoir) and Chitravati dam reservoir are the need of the hour for increasing their capacity, according to L Hanumantha Reddy, former APTransco superintending engineer, Anantapur.

In a study conducted by him and report submitted to the government in the past, he advocated undertaking of desiltation of village tanks and dredging of reservoirs to boost their storage capacities. A third of the Tungabhadra reservoir capacity had been reduced by massive silt formation.

Similar is the fate of all reservoirs in the district. The only solution to threats of desertification from adverse climatic conditions, including severe drought, is to chalk out a strategy to fill all ancient irrigation tanks built from the time of Emperor Sri Krishnadevaraya.

Sri Krishnadevaraya had given top priority to development of irrigation tanks, according to Hanumantha Reddy. In his report submitted to the state government, Reddy stated that the only way to save the district from the impending desertification would be supplementing the soils with external sources of water in addition to the normal rainfall.

While the entire state experiences floods during the monsoon season, Anantapur district reels under severe drought conditions which is viewed as a paradox. Under the PABR and Handri-Neeva schemes, the district is promised an additional quantity of 33 tmc ft of water.

The best way to save the district from drought conditions is by filling all the irrigation tanks, including steam beds. By utilising the external source of 33 tmc ft and the normal rain water every year, all the tanks can be filled, Reddy said, .The total capacity of all the irrigation tanks is 18.5 tmc ft and if all the irrigation tanks are desilted, their capacity will increase.

If all the tanks in the taluks are fed, the water table will increase in all the ayacut areas of the irrigation tanks. There are roughly 600 major and medium irrigation tanks and more than 1,000 minor tanks in the district. Farmers in the district are of the opinion that groundwater will be recharged in the ayacut areas if irrigation tanks are desilted.

Many leaders in villages are opposing desiltation of tanks by voluntary agencies on flimsy grounds of possible misuse of sand desilted by desilting agencies. The NREGS programme can be utilised for desilting of the tanks.

Most of the irrigation tanks are under illegal occupation by vested interests. In the absence of desiltation of tanks, the rainwater cannot be stored and is wasted. According to District Water Management Agency sources, around 300 tmc ft rainwater goes waste untapped.