The acceptance of the Karnataka government to take up modernisation of the Tungabhadra Project High level Canal (TBPHLC), if indeed implemented, would be a boon to almost all the people in the district.
The TBPHLC, which starts from the Tungabhadra dam in Hospet, was designed to serve the needs of parts of Bellary district while mainly catering to the irrigation and drinking water needs of Anantapur district and parts of Kadapa district (under the Pulivendula branch canal) by ensuring 32 TMC of water from the TB dam.
In the last 37 years, there were only two instances of the district realising its full quota. Besides this, the quota being realised by the district has dwindled drastically to between 19 and 22 TMC. One of the prime reasons for the reduced water allocation is, besides that of siltation in the TB dam itself, the heavy pilferage by farmers under the TBPHLC in Karnataka, which stretches up to 105 km from the TB dam before entering Andhra Pradesh.
While the State government completed the modernisation of the HLC in the Anantapur district during the last two terms of the Congress government, its appeals to the Karnataka government to do the same within its border were not heeded so far. A resolution appealing Karnataka to modernise the canal by the Tungabhadra board also did not evoke any interest from the Karnataka government.
If the TBPHLC within Karnataka is indeed modernised, it would mean that Anantapur district would be able to draw its allotted quota of 32 TMC from the dam by realising 2,000 cusecs at the State border on the canal during the monsoon, as against the 1,000 cusecs and less being realised currently.
It would also mean a world of difference for the drinking water starved district which has been using almost all the water realised from the TBPHLC to cater to the drinking water needs of the people of the district while more than two lakh hectares of ayacut has been running dry.
