CM KCR: Protecting Agriculture and Farmers is the Government’s Prime Responsibility, says CM KCR
Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has made it clear that protecting agriculture and farmers is the prime responsibility of the government. In order to ensure uninterrupted supply of water for cultivation despite the challenges posed by the monsoon season, the Irrigation Department has been instructed to take proactive measures. The department has been allocated sufficient funds to carry out these initiatives. “Even if it costs us money, we will not compromise on saving crops,” said the CM. In this regard, CM KCR conducted a high-level review meeting at the CM’s camp office in Hyderabad, which was attended by ministers, MLAs, officials from the Irrigation Department, and representatives from the Water Resources Department.
Continued Efforts to Address Water Shortages
In the first week of July, the Environment Department alerted the authorities about the need to take immediate action to address water shortages caused by the monsoon conditions. The CM instructed the officials to suspend any diversions of water from rivers and canals for irrigation purposes until further notice. The Water Resources Department has been directed to review the current water levels in reservoirs and make appropriate decisions in accordance with the prevailing conditions. A review meeting was held at Kalvakuntla’s camp office with the concerned officials to discuss the progress of the Palamuru-Rangareddy project.
Mallannasagar Project: Increase in Water Allocations
Currently, the Mallannasagar reservoir has a water allocation of only 0.69 TMC (thousand million cubic feet), which was deemed insufficient by engineers as per CM KCR’s perspective. As a result, officials have been ordered to release 2 TMC of water from the Mid Manair Dam reservoir immediately. This will help meet the irrigation needs of crops downstream from Mallannasagar. The existing water allocation of 4.95 TMC in the Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir is expected to last for three months until August, after which an additional 5 TMC will be required, as informed by the engineers. Consequently, a decision was made to transfer the required water from Kaleshwaram Project to Nagarjuna Sagar through the Komaram Bheem and Sri Ram Sagar projects.
Additional Water Allocations for Mallannasagar
It has been decided in a meeting that another 10 TMC of water will be allocated for Mallannasagar reservoir this year. After the conclusion of monsoon, in the months of October and November, there will be significant inflows into Godavari River through Kaleshwaram, and it was deemed necessary to release water from those projects to stabilize the water levels in Ellampalli, Sri Ram Sagar, Mid Manairu, Lower Manairu, Annapurna, Ranganayaka Sagar, Mallannasagar, and Kondapochamma reservoirs. The operation manual for pumping and the timings for pumping water were also discussed during the meeting with officials from the Irrigation Department.
Efforts to Address Water Shortages in Mallannasagar
In order to address the water shortages in Mallannasagar reservoir, it has been decided to transfer an additional 10 TMC of water from Godavari River to the reservoir through Kaleshwaram Project. The operation manual will be prepared by the Irrigation Department to determine the number of pumps required and the timings for pumping water. CM KCR has instructed the officials to ensure that the Water Resources Department remains prepared to face any challenges posed by the current monsoon conditions.
