VIJAYAWADA: Krishna delta farmers might not have to worry too much even if there is no water in the Krishna river, for the waters of the Godavari are ready to come to their aid.
Released from the Godavari through the Pattiseema lift irrigation scheme on July 12 when the Godavari was in spate, the floodwaters reached the 117 km point on the Polavaram Right Main Canal (PRMC) in Krishna district on July 14 at 5 p.m. and entered Krishna district at 6 p.m. Another 69 km is need to be covered before the water reach the confluence point, located 8 km upstream of the Prakasam Barrage.
"We are expecting the waters to reach the Krishna river on July 15 anytime between 3 p.m and 5 p.m. The water will be released through the Pattiseema project continuously till there are inflows from upstream of the river at the confluence point of the two rivers," V Ramesh Babu, superintending engineer of the Pattiseema project told New Indian Express.
When the flood levels of the Godavari started rising on July 12, irrigation officials at Pattiseema switched on five motors of the project, releasing water at the rate of 1,750 cusecs. Another two motors were switched on on Thursday evening, taking the discharge rate to 2,450 cusecs.
But as there were ongoing works on the aqueducts at Janampeta and Ramileru, the floodwaters from Pattiseema had to be stopped at the regulator located at the 14.8 km point of the PRMC and again at another regulator located at the 68 km point. Now with work completed at those aqueducts, the water is expected to flow at faster pace.
"We are expecting to provide 80 tmc ft water to the Krishna delta from July to December as we are expecting more than 25,000 cusecs of water flow in the Godavari river. The Godavari delta requires 13,000 cusecs to meet its irrigation and drinking water needs, while Pattiseema is designed to handle 8,500 cusecs. So there would be enough water," he said.
To prevent discharge pressure on the hydraulics of the Pattiseema Project, all the 24 motors are not being operated simultaneously but in a phased manner. Officials also ruled out the possibility of any breaches in the canal.
Meanwhile, Irrigation officials of the Krishna delta are eagerly awaiting the waters of the Godavari. "Once the waters reach here, we will immediately release the waters into the canals," Y S Sudhakar, Krishna delta chief engineer said.
The total water requirement of the Krishna delta for the kharif season is 152 tmc ft and the officials are confident that there will be sufficient water to meet the requirement. "Projects upstream of the Prakasam Barrage are getting filled one by one. It might take some time, as most of them have reached dead storage level last year. But, we are sure, we will get enough water," he said.