Nine out of the 20 overhead reservoirs planned in the wildlife sanctuaries of Telangana as part of the Mission Bhagiratha project are being shifted into non-wildlife areas, owing to the recommendations of the National Board for Wild Life (NBWL).
The Telangana government’s Rural Water Supply wing is making certain changes to the Mission Bhagiratha project, following the recommendations and conditions put by the NWBL, before it granted permission for the project.
“During field inspection before the project approval, the NWBL officials made certain suggestions, which included removing or relocating of the overhead reservoirs from the wildlife sanctuaries wherever possible. The government has responded positively to this suggestion and decided to shift nine reservoirs to the non-wildlife areas,” a highly placed official from the Forest department said.
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Concerns have been already raised by environmentalists about the overhead reservoirs being built on the hillocks as it would mean destroying the hills and their rocky structures. However, the project needs overhead reservoirs on elevated terrain, as it would save pumping costs.
Column reservoirs
“We discussed the possibility of beam and column reservoirs to gain elevation,” the official said.
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One more suggestion by the NBWL members was excavation and filling to be carried out simultaneously, so as not to disturb wildlife.
Not more than 500 metres was to be dug in a single instance, without simultaneous laying of pipeline and filling.
Other mitigation measures suggested by the board include providing water outlets every two kilometres in wildlife areas, in order to fill small ponds and containers for the benefit of wildlife.
Besides, wherever underground pipelines are laid, the row should be planted with evergreen shrubs and plants.
The NBWL has approved 23 packages of laying 100 kilometres of water pipeline through nine wildlife sanctuaries in Telangana, as part of the Mission Bhagiratha or Telangana State Drinking Water project.