This year, nature's cruel drama has blighted the prospect of irrigation, drinking water and hydel power generation in the state. This is bound to have a cascading effect during the coming months, especially in the summer of 2013. With several reservoirs and dams in both the Krishna and Godavari Basins in the state parched for water, it is strange that some areas in districts like Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal, Khammam, West and East Godavari are facing a flood situation and lakhs of cusecs of waters are wastefully being let into the sea at Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage near Rajahmundry city.
While the Sriram Sagar project on the River Godavari in Nizamabad district is recording meagre inflows due to lack of rain in its catchment area in Maharashtra, just a few miles below the dam the whole Godavari river is flooding due to the Pranahita, Indravathi tributaries causing havoc. Flood fury is continuing down the line with Taliperu, Kinnera Sani, Sabari, Sileru tributaries also joining the main Godavari. The latter river’s heavy water contribution is flowing wastefully into the sea in the absence of any dam.
The 10-lakh-acre Godavari delta, spread over East and West Godavari districts, requires just 11, 500 cusecs of water daily ( i.e. one TMC ft of water a day). At present 11,50,000 cusecs of water ( i.e. 100 TMC ft) are being let into the sea from Cotton Barrage, inundating areas in Konaseema. The Krishna-based projects in the state are facing the worst crisis. While Almatti, Narayapur and Tungabhadra dams in Karnataka are almost full to their capacity ( 265 TMC ft) and diverting the inflows to canals under their dams, Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar and Krishna Delta Ayacut under Prakasam barrage are suffering due to lack of water.
Several other projects and canals like Srisailam left bank, right bank canal, Teluguganga, Velugodu, Somasila, and Kandaleru are facing the worst deficit in inflows. A few days ago, due to heavy rains in Warangal and Khammam, the Krishna Tributaries Palair, MunneruG got good inflows and joined Prakasam barrage to fetch water to the Krishna Delta.
But at present the heavy rains in Warangal and Khammam in the Godavari basin area aren’t providing relief to the Krishna tributaries.