Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has said that Godavari river water will be diverted from Pattiseema project into Polavaram Right Main Canal (RMC) with the help of 24 pumps on July 6 as the water level at Dowleswaram crossed 14 metres.
Water will reach Prakasam barrage in four days from there, paving the way for farmers to take up kharif cropping in Krishna delta.
Construction of the Polavaram Left Main Canal will be completed by June 30, 2017. Survey for linking Krishna and Penna rivers was taken up with plans to store the water at Sunkesula and Nellore barrages, he said.
Addressing mediapersons here on Saturday, Mr. Naidu said survey for linking Nagavali and Vamsadhara rivers had been completed, and 40 per cent of the Stage-II works of Vamsadhara project were finished. A sum of Rs. 417 crore was released for land acquisition and relief and rehabilitation of people in villages facing submergence by that project.
The first and second phase works of Velugonda project would be over by December 2017 and December 2018 respectively.
The Gundlakamma and Galeru-Nagari (1st phase) projects would be completed October 2017 and June 2017.
A total of 160 tmcft of water could be stored in Somasila-Kandaleru reservoirs, Mr. Naidu said, adding that Handri-Neeva Phase-I was irrigating 1.40 lakh acres.
The Chief Minister said the ground water levels had increased by 2.36 metres compared to July last year and it was equivalent to storing 216 tmcft of water underground. It is a bountiful resource that could irrigate 22 lakh acres.
Water auditWater audit is being done with the help of 2,600 sensors installed at reservoirs and water bodies across the State.
Besides, 1,200 Piezometers and 1607 rain gauges were installed for keeping a tab on water availability from different sources, Mr. Naidu added.
