KHAMMAM: Despite being one of the oldest dams in erstwhile Khammam district, the Mukamamidi project is currently in a dilapidated condition as the State government has not yet released adequate funds to take up repair works on it.
Situated at Mulakalapalli mandal in Bhadradri-Kothagudem district, the dam’s condition started deteriorating due to the negligence of officials. As a result, it is unable to provide enough water to its ayacut due to accumulation of silt and damage to the sluices.
According to sources, the dam previously used to provide irrigation water to about 3,326 acres, belonging to tribals, spread across 10 villages.While the foundation stone for the dam was laid in 1978 by the then Chief Minister of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh Jalagam Vengala Rao, it was inaugurated in 1980 by his successor Marri Channa Reddy.
Constructed with a gross capacity of 27 feet, the reservoir currently has a storage capacity of just 10 feet due to the accumulation of silt. Meanwhile, the dam’s weir has also been damaged at two points.
In light of this, the Irrigation Department officials had recently sent proposals to the State government requesting it to allocate Rs 21 crore for taking up repair works.
However, the government has sanctioned only Rs 9 crore so far, as a result of which the authorities concerned have not been able to take up either silt removal or repair of weir. However, they were able to remove silt from the canals and repair the damaged sluices with this Rs 9 crore. It may be mentioned here that the worst affected are tribal farmers in the area.
Speaking to Express, Kursa Nagaiah, a tribal farmer, said that initially, soon after the inauguration of the dam, he used to cultivate paddy in his farmland which falls under Mukamamidi’s ayacut. “However, I was forced to stop growing paddy due to the scarcity of water in the dam. Now, I cultivate only dry crops, though they do not fetch me much profit,” he added.