SIDDIPET: As promised, the State government, led by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, has started providing Godavari water to the farmlands in Gajwel during this Vanakalam itself. In a small ceremony held here on Wednesday, Aleru MLA G Sunitha and Forest Development Corporation Chairman V Pratap Reddy released water from the Kondapochamma project through one of its canal.
The reservoir, which has a storage capacity of 15 tmcft, was constructed under KLIS in a record time of three years. The reservoir was inaugurated on May 29 by KCR himself. Later, during both his visits, the CM had directed the officials concerned to fill the reservoir up to eight tmcft of its storage capacity, as fast as possible. The water level in the reservoir touched close to six tmcft on Wednesday, after which the authorities started releasing Godavari water through one of its canals to nearby farmlands. The decision to release water was taken by the authorities after noticing the dry spell in the district.
In the wake of this, the local officials have already started taking steps to fill all 43 tanks in Gajwel and Aleru Assembly constituencies. Witnessing the Godavari waters gushing towards the downstream, farmers and local public representatives expressed their happiness and offered special pujas to the water. According to sources, the government would provide water to only 60,000 acres in Siddipet and Yadadri districts, under the first phase.