The Hindu : Steep fall in area under assured irrigation

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 10, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

Steep fall in area under assured irrigation

By Our Special Correspondent

Hyderabad Oct. 9. Out of a total ayacut of 65 lakh acres coming under the assured irrigation of major projects in the State, only about 40 lakh acres is being protected this year.

The area even under the commands has shrunk making the assured benefit a myth for the first time in long years -- due to two factors, monsoon failure and 2002 turning out to be the "worst year for the Krishna river in 80 years'' as the Irrigation Secretary, C. V. S. K. Sarma, puts it.

Of the 25 lakh acres left fallow or lost after sowing, nearly 20 lakh acres is from Nagarjunasagar. For the first time in many years, the K. C. Canal has not been opened due to poor storage in the Thungabhadra Dam at Hospet, resulting in a further loss of 2.78 lakh acres. Sowing has been done under High Level and Low Level canals only to the tune of 42,000 acres and 15,000 acres respectively but this is only 10 per cent of the total acreage. Similar is the fate of the commands under the Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme, Somasila, Telugu Ganga and Kandaleru projects.

The only exception under the Krishna river is the Krishna delta.

Mr. Sarma wants to reassure the farmers about the survival of crops in the `delta' districts -- Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and West Godavari, saying that an action programme is being implemented for the past one week not to allow the discharge into the four canals -- Buckingham, Bandar, Elur and Ryves -- from Prakasam Barrage to go down below 10,000 cusecs.

Nagarjunasagar requires about 70 tmcft at this time of the season for the crops in delta but now, it has only 35 tmcft. For saving the standing crops even with this quantum, the Irrigation Department has drawn up an action plan for day-wise and canal-wise distribution of water which also provides for prevention of overdrawal and illegal-tapping. On Wednesday, the discharge from the barrage was maintained at 10,300 cusecs--300 cusecs more than what was contemplated.

For the first time, pumpsets are being allowed even in the delta for serving high-level patches where pushing by gravitation is not possible. For strict implementation of the action plan, help is taken from Collectors and SPs wherever there is a problem such as illegal-tapping.

The monsoon failure has not, however, disturbed the Godavari and Vamsadhara. Jurala ayacut is a second exception under the Krishna. The entire localised ayacut of 60,000 acres remains `protected'.

With storage being nil beyond 55 tmcft, the Right and Left bank canals of Nagarjunasagar have been closed for irrigation purposes.

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