The Tungabhadra Board has decided to take up the long-awaited modernisation of canal systems in its purview soon to reduce water losses due to frequent breaches and piping in canals due to damaged or lack of lining.
It is likely to raise the hopes of farmers in command area of Anantapur, Kurnool and Kadapa districts.
A meeting of the board held here on Saturday has handed over the work of preparing detailed project reports (DPRs) for modernisation of Tungabhadra right bank high level canal (HLC) and low level canal (LLC), serving an ayacut of about 6.5-lakh acres both in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, to Stoop and RV agencies.
They were asked to submit DPRs in a month’s time so that estimates are prepared in advance after getting the clearance from the Central Water Commission (CWC) for taking up works immediately after the water release to canals is stopped.
The Tungabhadra Board maintains HLC for a length of 105.5-km and LLC for 250.5-km, both running in Karnataka territory before entering AP.
Official sources stated that the decision on modernisation was taken up following the Chief Ministers of AP and Karnataka coming to an understanding on it recently.
“Lack of or damaged lining of the canals and pilferage of water in the board limits has been denying designed discharge of water into our territory,” a senior engineer from AP said after the meeting.
A senior official of the board stated that they had also discussed sharing of water among different canal systems based on the project with the expected realisation of 142 TMC ft water this water year.
“A survey will also be ordered to look into the problem of siltation in the reservoir which has already reduced its storage capacity to 100 TMC ft from the original 132 TMC ft,” the official said.
Meanwhile, officials from Telangana requested the board to take up the Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS) in its purview so that allocated water reached the ayacut in Mahabubnagar district. However, the board officials suggested Telangana that it could examine the matter only after the Governments of Karnataka and Telangana come to an understanding on it.
Tapping of water in the upper reaches has been denying water to over 60 per cent of the designed ayacut of 80,000 acres in Mahabubnagar district.
