Dashing farmers hopes, Nagarjunasagar water deplete further

Nalgonda: The agriculture lands with crops under the ayacut of Nagarjunasagar in the district, which once used to be lush green, resemble a desert now. Thanks to the depleting water levels in the Nagarjunasagar. There has been no water for the Kharif season from the reservoir for the past four years. Let alone Kharif, the farming community is unsure about the irrigation facility for Rabi this year.

Nagarjunasagar reservoir has been fulfilling the dreams of lakhs of farmers for the last five decades. But, things have turned the other way now. It can’t even provide drinking water for people of two Telugu states. One can the water level plummeting to very low level. The water level in the reservoir remained at 501 feet as against its maximum capacity of 590 feet. The High Court in the past declared 510 feet to be the dead storage level. The reservoir is holding 115 tmcft at present and it requires 200 tmcft more to reach its full capacity.

The farmers say that they have been receiving less amounts of upstream water for the past four years. Lakhs of cusecs of water used to be released from the reservoir that helped farmers to cultivate 22 lakh acres of land for two crops. Surplus water used to be released into the sea.

But now, the State has to beg Karnataka government, which has been filling its reservoirs and irrigation tanks without releasing water downstream, for drinking water. Sagar used to cater to the irrigation and drinking water needs of the Krishna delta, Prakasam and Nalgonda districts. However, there is hardly any water supply to many villages in Nalgonda district for the last two months.