HYDERABAD Saralasagar, a minor irrigation project in Wanaparthy district in Telangana had suffered a major breach on its earthen bund in the early hours of Tuesday emptying it completely. About 0.5 tmc ft of water - its full storage capacity - drained out due to the breach.
According to Irrigation Department officials, a piping was noticed in the bund in the morning, and within an hour it developed into a breach ultimately washing away the bund for about 20 feet length.
Over a 50-year-old project
The minor irrigation project was constructed during 1947-60 with the siphon system, wherein the water in excess of its full reservoir level, would automatically flow out of the reservoir into the surplus channel, across Chinnavagu, a rivulet in the Krishna Basin, near Shankaraiahpet of Madanapur mandal.
The project has been serving an ayacut of about 4,500 acres under its Left and Right Canals. The Left Canal has about 4,200 acres ayacut, while the Right Canal has only about 300 acres ayacut. Although it served the ayacut on and off till 2009, it did not receive water to meet the needs of the ayacut since then poor rainfall in its catchment area. After being near empty for about 10 years, the reservoir has been filled with water pumped from Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigation Scheme.
Cracks due to disuse and rodents
Farmers under the project have already harvested one (kharif) crop and have raised paddy nurseries for the second (rabi/yasangi) crop. Engineers have attributed the breach to cracks developed in the layers of the bund owing to lack of hydrological pressure for about a decade. It was exacerbated by damage caused by rodents due to near zero moisture in the nearby soil.
Minister for Agriculture S. Niranjan Reddy, along with Wanaparthy District Collector Swetha Mohanty, Superintendent of Police K. Apoorva, and local irrigation officials visited the breach site and examined the damage. Mr. Niranjan Reddy stated that it was unfortunate that the minor irrigation project constructed with modern technology in those days had breached. “I have already spoken to the Irrigation Engineer-in-Chief, and taken the matter to the Chief Minister’s notice,” the Minister said. He added that restoration work would be taken up as early as possible in consultation with experts.
Worried farmers
Further, the Minister said the government would also explore all the possibilities to give water to the Saralasagar project by linking the canals with other irrigation systems as farmers who had already raised nurseries would be a worried lot.
Meanwhile, the water flowing out of Saralasagar was reaching OVP Ramanpadu, another minor irrigation project with a storage capacity of over 299 mcft (nearly 0.3 tmc ft) and the excess water was being discharged there too by lifting eight gates. Ramanpadu had a storage of over 289 mcft early on Tuesday.
