Senior irrigation engineers of Nagarjuna Sagar Project right canal have started releasing 7,000 cusecs of water into the right canal after the tension that brewed over release of water into Nagarjuna Sagar Project Right Canal blew over after a meeting of Irrigation Ministers of A.P. and Telangana in the presence of Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan in Hyderabad.
“We are releasing 7,000 cusecs of water now which will meet the immediate requirement of saving standing crops in Guntur and Prakasam districts besides filling up of water tanks. We may need another 40 TMC of water to meet irrigational needs,’’ Chief Engineer, NSP Right Canals Office, Lingamguntla, Veeraju told The Hindu on Saturday. The irrigation engineers were releasing 10 tmc to right canal and 7.8 tmc may be required for Krishna delta.
A decision to release 7,000 cusecs was taken by Engineers in chief of AP and Telangana, M. Venkateswara Rao and S. Muralidhar at a meeting. It was also decided to ensure the presence of senior Chief Engineers at the dam site during the release of water.
A team of NSP Right Canal engineers led by Chief Engineer Veeraju and Superintendent Engineer M.V Krishna Rao opened the head regulator at the NSP dam. Water releases up to 7,000 cusecs would be ensured for at least five days, of which 2,000 cusecs would be used to fill up Bugga Vagu at Macherla. The NSP Canals Office has given two scheduled for water release. So far, AP has drawn 138 tmc water, 6 tmc more than the scheduled withdrawal but the exigency of the situation, the fate of standing crops in Prakasam and Guntur districts and the drying up water tanks in villages, had left the A.P. engineers with no other option. “The water releases will be stopped after March 31 and there will be no further releases for second crop. Farmers are advised against opting for second major crop,’’ said SE Krishna Rao. In a related development, tension eased on the NSP dam after both the Guntur and Nalgonda police forces agreed to withdraw from the site. For a few days it was decided not to allow politicians on the dam.
A team of 15 police men from each side was stationed at the dam to prevent any untoward incident.
