Dipping reservoir levels ring alarm bells for Telangana
Hyderabad: Barring a few exceptions, water levels are dipping to the minimum draw down levels (MDDL) in almost all the major projects in the State. The State government has drawn a blank in its moves to seek emergency releases from the neighbouring States of Karnataka and Maharashtra so far. With the Yasangi (Rabi) crops beginning to wither, farmers are up in arms at many places. Irrigation officials tasked with the job of using the precious little left in the projects only to meet the drinking water needs are facing the heat.
The right canal of the Nagarjuna Sagar Project was closed on Sunday after releasing five TMC of its allotted quota to Andhra Pradesh. The project was left with hardly eight TMC of water above the minimum draw down level (MDDL) of 510 feet. Even as the State government has declared a crop holiday under the NSP left canal, Yasangi farmers have raised crops in over one lakh acres in all the three zones of the left canal. They have been mounting pressure on the administration in Nalgonda and Khammam districts for at least a single wetting.
Telangana, as the Krishna River Management Board claims, has already exhausted its share of water from the Krishna basin projects and it was left with no scope to support irrigation. Though farmers are taking to the streets, elected representatives are not in a position to say ‘no’ to them because of the ensuing parliamentary polls. Farmers have gone for drilling new bore-wells extensively in some of the mandals falling in zone I and zone II of the NSP left canal that are known for extensive cultivation of paddy.
Telangana, as the Krishna River Management Board claims, has already exhausted its share of water from the Krishna basin projects and it was left with no scope to support irrigation. Though farmers are taking to the streets, elected representatives are not in a position to say ‘no’ to them because of the ensuing parliamentary polls. Farmers have gone for drilling new bore-wells extensively in some of the mandals falling in zone I and zone II of the NSP left canal that are known for extensive cultivation of paddy.
