Water that flowed for the third time from the ambitious ₹1,300-crore Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (PLIS) taken up by the Andhra Pradesh government for linking the Godavari and Krishna rivers, brushing aside Opposition criticism, has come to the rescue of farmers in 13 lakh acres in four districts in the Krishna River Delta.
Water lifted by the PLIS from Godavari was received with bonhomie and fanfare by the Telugu Desam activists and the farmers of Pallerlamudi and Seetharamapuram villages in Krishna district on Thursday. The water from Pattiseema has now become the lifeline of the delta farmers, who otherwise suffered year after year as the water in Krishna river virtually got reduced to a trickle with too many projects upstream. Twelve of the 24 pumps of the PLIS were switched on to pump 4,200 cusecs on Thursday.
Besides strengthening supply to Krishna delta, the river-linking lift irrigation project effectively tapped at least some of the water from the mighty Godavari river, 3000 tmcft of which otherwise flows waste into the sea every year. The government finished the PLIS and bridged gaps in the 177-km Polavaram Right Main Canal to facilitate its flow into Krishna delta surmounting efforts by political rivals to prevent farmers to give up their land needed for the project. Another objective of the PLIS is to divert from Srisailam Reservoir the water saved to drought-prone Rayalaseema.
Minister for Water Resources Devineni Umamaheswara Rao was on the spot when the water flowed on Thursday morning and offered prayers. The Minister said the first time PLIS came to the rescue of the delta farmers was in 2015 saving standing crop worth approximately ₹2,500 crore in the kharif season. In the next season, farmers could raise crop in 10.75 lakh acres and fish in 1.5 lakh acres with 55 tmcft. With flood water flowing early in Godavari this year, the government planned to lift 80 to 100 tmcft, he said. Over 500 tmcft was required to fill the various reservoirs upstream on Krishna river before water trickled down to the delta and there was no guarantee how long that would take, the Minister added.
