Water release from the Srisailam reservoir to the Pothireddypadu head regulator has been increased to 12,000 cusecs, the highest this season.
Authorities in Andhra Pradesh have been gradually increasing the releases to the Srisailam Right Main Canal (SRMC) through the head regulator.
The SRMC provides water to the Telugu Ganga, KC Canal, and Srisailam Right Bank Canal (SRBC).
As per the design, the SRBC has an ayacut of 1.54 lakh acres and Telugu Ganga has an ayacut of one-lakh acres. Starting with 1,125 cusecs on September 20, the authorities increased the release to 8,000 cusecs on September 22, 10,000 cusecs on September 24 and, finally, to 12,000 cusecs on Wednesday.
There is scope to increase the release to 14,000 cusecs, depending on the level in the reservoir.
The level in the Srisailam reservoir on Wednesday was 871.3 ft, the highest this season. It is likely to increase further in the next couple of days as water is collecting at the rate of 10 tmcft a day from the upstream reservoir of Jurala.
An inflow of 1.8 lakh cusecs was recorded on Tuesday, but the inflow fell marginally to an average of 1.64 lakh cusecs on Wednesday. The Krishna River Management Board’s three-member committee, comprising its Chairman Sumit Chatterjee and the Engineers-in-Chief of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, which met recently permitted Telangana to draw 16 tmcft and AP 6 tmcft with a strict warning not to draw water from the river without consent of the board.
While both the States made fresh requests for more water, there seems to be some sort of a competition to draw water as fast as possible, without keeping in mind the future needs, irrigation pundits say.
Limited scope
Andhra Pradesh Water Resources engineers say that while the scope of drawing water from the Pothireddypadu head regulator was limited, Telangana, which had full control over Nagarjuna Sagar, could draw ten times more indirectly.
Up to 50,000 cusecs is being used for power generation at Srisailam. All water used for power generation goes into the control of Telangana because it has control over Nagarjuna Sagar into which the water used for power generation flows.
Last year too there were clashes between the staff of the two States with regard to release of water from the Nagarjuna Sagar dam, the AP engineers pointed out.
“The situation is very volatile with the KRMB having no jurisdiction and the Central government not acting,” a former engineer of the inter-State division said.
