Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday ordered release of nine tmc ft water from Singur to Nizamsagar project to irrigate ayacut in the latter project and other barrages for the second crop.
Responding to Mr. Rao’s direction, Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao said the release will take place from the evening itself. The Chief Minister also asked the chairman and managing director of generation and transmission corporations D. Prabhakar Rao to take up power generation at Singur to synchronise with water release. The 15 MW generation unit at Singur will be operated on full scale, the official replied.
A release of the Chief Minister’s office said Agriculture Minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and Mr. Harish Rao took up with KCR the long pending demand of farmers in erstwhile Nizamabad and Medak districts to get water for the second crop. The ayacut was spread over two lakh acres in the two districts.
In this context, the Chief Minister decided to release water to the two districts from Singur where 29 tmc ft storage was available. The Ministers informed KCR that creation of separate Telangana State had raised hopes in farmers of Nizamabad, Kamareddy, Medak and Andole Assembly constituencies that they will get water from the project.
As the canal system from Singur to Nizamsagar was also available, nine tmc ft water could be released which will augment another three tmc ft already available in the latter project. About 1.2 lakh acres sown directly under Nizamsagar, 30,000 acres under Ghanpur anicut and 40,000 acres under Andole lift irrigation scheme will get water in the process.
KCR recalled that the farmers never had such an opportunity in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh.
