The Water Resources Department has released 6,000 cusecs from the Nagarjuna Sagar for the first time this year into the Right Canal to provide a wetting for standing ID (Irrigated Dry) crop in over eight lakh acres in Guntur and Prakasam districts.
Nagarjuna Sagar Project Chief Engineer L. Veera Raju said that crop was sown in 8.35 lakh acres in kharif, and fresh crop was being planned in another 10 lakh acres during Rabi. Proposals have been made for five wettings in the coming season. In the first wetting 10 tmcft would be released at the rate of 6,000 cusecs over 20 days. This would be repeated five times once the proposal was approved by the Government, Mr. Raju said.
The water in Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar projects had to be shared by the sibling State in the ratio of 63 per cent for Andhra Pradesh and 37 per cent for Telangana. Under this ratio, Andhra Pradesh was entitled to 183 tmcft and Telangana 108 tmcft. Andhra Pradesh had already used 78 tmcft and still had 105 tmcft for its use. Telangana had already used 20 tmcft, Mr Raju explained.
Nagarjuna Sagar which had a full reservoir level capacity of 312.06 tmcft was 62 per cent full with 190.63 tmcft on Wednesday. The project was receiving a meagre 1,000 cusecs from upstream.
