VIJAYAWADA: With Andhra Pradesh facing an alarming 51 per cent monsoon deficit this season, the Water Resources Department has appealed to farmers in the Krishna Delta to avoid cultivating paddy during the Kharif season, and switch to irrigated-dry (arutadi) crops instead.
With water levels in reservoirs across the Krishna basin depleted, authorities declared that all available storage will be strictly prioritised to safeguard drinking water needs.
Addressing a media conference in Vijayawada on Friday, alongside Chief Engineer B Rambabu and Superintending Engineer J Gunakar, Engineer-in-Chief (Irrigation) K Narasimha Murthy warned that raising paddy amidst acute water scarcity poses severe financial risks for farmers if canal supplies dry up midway.
“Statewide rainfall is down by 51%, while Krishna Delta is facing a 49% shortfall. The government’s top priority is securing drinking water until June 2027 for over 60 lakh residents across Eluru, Krishna, NTR, Guntur and Bapatla districts,” Murthy said, clarifying that industrial water allocations would come after drinking water and irrigation needs.
Ground-level storage figures reflect the severity of the crisis. According to APWRIMS data, Srisailam currently holds just 41.56 TMC ft against its gross capacity of 215.81 TMC ft (19.2%), while Nagarjuna Sagar stands at 137.34 TMC ft against its 312.05 TMC ft capacity, leaving both primary Krishna reservoirs severely depleted.
Godavari water levels hit historic lows
Giving a detailed breakdown of available reserves, the ENC revealed that out of the 29.3 TMC ft currently stored in Pulichintala Reservoir, only 25 TMC ft is usable, as 4 TMC ft must be mandatorily maintained as a flood cushion. This usable volume is being reserved strictly as a drinking water contingency through June 2027.
The crisis is further compounded by falling water levels along the Godavari river, where discharges have collapsed sharply from lakhs of cusecs to mere thousands. “Even Godavari water levels have hit historic lows. For the first time in several years, we were forced to draw water from the Sileru hydro system to address the immediate requirements of the Godavari Delta,” Murthy revealed.
Unlike the heavily dammed Krishna, the Godavari has few major storage structures upstream of the under-construction Polavaram project.
While this allows the Godavari Delta’s 150 TMC ft requirement to be met with relative ease during normal years, lower river heads are making current operations extremely difficult.
The sharp drop in Godavari flows has severely restricted water diversion to the Krishna Delta via the Polavaram Right Main Canal (RMC) through the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Scheme. Running only 15 of its 24 pumps, Pattiseema’s operational window is expected to shrink from the usual 120 days to just 60–70 this season.
The ENC noted that strict action by District Collectors against unauthorised pumping along the RMC has helped stabilise downstream flows.
Responding to queries on water allocation for industrial hubs and proposed supplies to Anakapalle via the Polavaram Left Main Canal (LMC), top officials indicated that any release depends entirely on future river flows, expressing hope for a monsoon turnaround upstream.