Minister for Agriculture Pocharam Srinivas Reddy pressed the button releasing water from Gutpa Lift Irrigation Scheme at Ummeda in Nandipet mandal for kharif cultivation on Thursday.
The LI scheme built on the backwaters of the Sri Ram Sagar Project would cater to the irrigation needs of 38,792 acres with 3 tmcf water expected to be released, in Makloor, Nandipet, Armoor, Balkonda, Velpur and Jakranpally mandals till the kharif harvest is over.
Completed in the very first year of Jalayagnam in 2005, earlier water from this LI scheme used to be released after the SRSP got water to its brim.
However, this time, on the demand from farmers the Government decided to give water in the current month itself.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that water was already being supplied from the Ali Sagar LI scheme to 53,793 acres.
Both would run uninterruptedly as there was adequate inflow into the reservoir, he said and added if the Gaikwad reservoir, built with a capacity of 100 tmcf in Maharashtra, was full the SRSP would also get filled. At present there was 33 tmcf water available in it as against its total capacity of 90 tmcf, he said.
Assannagari Jeevan Reddy and Mohammed Shakeel Amer, MLAs of Armoor and Bodhan respectively and engineering authorities were present.
