Andhra Pradesh - Tirupati   

A way for Chittoor to get Krishna water

Staff Reporter

Irrigation experts say the river can be diverted through Telugu Ganga canal; wastage of water can be avoided

TIRUPATI: Though the Krishna and Godavari are in spate, forcing the Government to let them into the sea, the tail-end Chittoor district is still reeling under drought. Floods inundating colonies, highways and farmland is `news' for the arid district, which has not seen consistent showers for years together, leave alone floods. The Irrigation Minister, Ponnala Lakshmaiah, had stated recently that he was letting out water into the sea "with a heavy heart" as there was no other option left. Irrigation experts suggest a way out. They feel the Government should give serious thought to diverting the Krishna to the water-starved Rayalaseema districts through the Telugu Ganga canal.

According to them, the water can be diverted from Srisailam via Pothireddypadu head regulator (a part of the TG canal) to fill Velugodu and Brahmamgari Matam reservoirs.

For Tamil Nadu too

Also, as 70 tmcft of water could be stored in Somasila and 60 tmcft in Kandaleru, wastage of water can be brought down to a large extent. Bringing water up to Kandaleru would help the Government in fulfilling its promise of letting water to Chennai as promised to the Tamil Nadu Government, besides meeting the drinking water and irrigation needs of Nellore and eastern Chittoor districts.

The temple city is almost entirely dependent on Kandaleru reservoir, as water is being pumped from there to Kailasagiri storage tank and from there to Tirupati. This would also help meet the drinking water needs of the denizens and the tens of thousands of devotees visiting Tirupati everyday.

The CPI district secretary, P. Harinatha Reddy, also demanded that Krishna water be pumped to Tirupati to solve the drinking water problem.

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