NELLORE: Irrigation department officials on Thursday released 500 cusecs of water from Kandaleru reservoir to Chennai under the Telugu Ganga Project. Kandaleru dam executive engineer Vijay Kumar Reddy performed a special puja at the head regulator before releasing the water.
Addressing mediapersons, Vijay Kumar Reddy said acting upon the instructions of Telugu Ganga chief engineer Harinarayana Reddy they began water supply to Chennai. “We have started supplying 500 cusecs of water and it will be increased to 2,500 cusecs. The water will be released for three months. A decision was made for releasing water for irrigation purposes to farmers in Nellore and Chittoor districts during the Irrigation Advisory Board meeting,” the executive engineer said.
It may be noted that the reservoir is an irrigation project built on Kandaleru river in Rapur mandal of Nellore district. The project is part of the Telugu Ganga, which supplies drinking water to Chennai from the Srisailam reservoir on the Krishna river. It serves as a link to the Somasila reservoir.