KURNOOL: With the Srisailam reservoir receiving heavy inflows from upstream, seven spillway gates were lifted on Saturday morning and 1,05,692 cusecs of water was released to the Nagarjunasagar. At present, 2,08,930 cusecs of water is being drawn from the reservoir, including 73,580 cusecs for power generation purpose.
Water Resources Minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao lifted the four gates up to 10 ft. However, 3,61,774 cusecs of inflows are continuing into the reservoir from both Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers. The water level in the reservoir has reached 884.80 ft against the FRL of 885 ft.
Speaking to media persons, the minister said water was released from the Srisailam reservoir as per the guidelines of Central Water Commission (CWC). The State government laid emphasis on linking major rivers to utilise the available water resources in an optimum manner and make AP drought-free. The drought-prone Rayalaseema would become ‘Jalaseema’ with the diversion of water through linking of major rivers.
All the 13 districts in the State have sufficient water to meet their drinking and irrigation needs. There is no drinking and irrigation water problem. There is also no power shortage in the State, which helps promote industrial growth, the minister said. Srisailam MLA Budda Rajasekhar Reddy, Chief Engineer of Irrigation Department C Narayana Reddy and others accompanied the minister during his visit to the Srisailam reservoir.