MULUGU: As Telangana continues to face rainfall deficit, Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Monday directed officials to operate all the Devadula pumping units round the clock and the 22 reservoirs under the project to their capacity to ensure adequate water availability for drinking and irrigation needs across its command area.
Uttam, along with Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Revenue & Housing Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, held a review on the Devadula Lift Irrigation Scheme. The review was conducted as part of the government’s follow-up exercise to accelerate the execution of Phase-III works of the project.
Reviewing the operational status of the scheme, Uttam instructed the engineers to operate all pumping units, taking advantage of the current inflows into the Godavari river. With inflows presently touching around 20,000 cusecs, seven pumping units are already in operation, supplying water for both drinking and irrigation requirements in the command area.
With all 10 pumping units in operation, the project can lift about 0.23 tmc of water every day, enabling the transfer of one tmc of water in about four-and-a-half days, he said, while directing the officials to maximise pumping whenever river conditions permit so that reservoirs remain adequately stocked during the rainfall deficit.
Uttam, meanwhile, reiterated that the state government would strictly adhere to the recommendations of the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) regarding the operation of Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages, and that no decision would be taken that may compromise public safety.