The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Irrigation meeting for monitoring of Tungabhadra flow

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 04, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Irrigation meeting for monitoring of Tungabhadra flow

By Our Staff Reporter

KURNOOL, AUG. 3. The Irrigation Advisory Board meeting here on Tuesday advised the irrigation officials to monitor the flow in the Tungabhadra for the next ten days to decide on the reopening of the KC canal and indicate the farmers about the availability of water for the next crop. The incharge Collector, Mukesh Kumar Meena, presided over the meeting. SPY Reddy, MP, the ZP Chairman, B. Venkatramudu, Shilpa Mohan Reddy, Katasani Rambhupal Reddy, SV Subba Reddy, M. Sikhamani, Y. Kesava Reddy, Saiprasad Reddy, Gouru Charita, Kotla Sujathamma, M.A. Gafoor and Gangula Pratap Reddy, all MLAs, were present.

Surplus likely soon

Members felt that full quantum of water should be supplied for one crop this year and decide whether the farmers be advised to go in for irrigated dry crops or paddy. The incharge Superintending Engineer, Seshaiah, explained that the canal could be reopened only after the flow stabilised around 1,000 cusecs in the Tungabhadra river at Sunkesula. At present, only 12 cusecs was flowing at Sunkesula. However, inflow at TB dam was around 32,000 cusecs and the dam level was likely to be surplus by the end of August. The flow in the river would get stabilised only after surplus at TB dam.

The meeting decided to postpone the decision on the reopening of the canal for ten days and convene a meeting on August 13 by which time a clear picture would emerge. While Mr. SPY Reddy insisted that the assistance of 7.3 tmcft available for the KC canal in the TB dam should be used now to raise seedbeds as the river flow was expected only after September.

However, Mr. Pratap Reddy cautioned that the KC canal survived on the river regeneration and the KC canal should not be operated until the river flow gets stabilised. The assistance should be utilised only to sustain the supply during fluctuations or at the fag end. Mr. Subba Reddy said the crops should be decided at the time of reopening as paddy can be cultivated if water release was stretched beyond August.

MLAs to meet CM

Also, the meeting decided to send a delegation of MLAs to the Chief Minister to close the vent in the Sunkesula barrage. They felt that if the vent remained open, the canal could not be operated as the precious water would slip through the vent.

The meeting decided to release water for agriculture operations under the TB Low Level Canal from Wednesday. The canal was reopened on July 11 but the flow was used to fill tanks till now. The MLAs from Yemmiganur and Adoni insisted that the irrigation officials should ensure discharge of 600 cusecs in the LLC on the State border while it was only 350 to 400 cusecs.

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