SANGAREDDY: Officials have tentatively decided to store only up to 15 tmcft of water in the Singur project this monsoon as repair works continue following recommendations made by the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA).
The Singur project supplies drinking water to Hyderabad, industries and several areas in the erstwhile Medak district. Officials had released nearly 8 tmcft of water from the reservoir last March to facilitate repair works. Despite concerns over water availability during peak summer, officials managed supply by regulating distribution schedules.
In some areas, drinking water was supplied on alternate days, while Sangareddy received water once every two or three days. Irrigation department Executive Engineer B Bheem said authorities now plan to store up to 15 tmcft and release excess floodwater downstream if heavy inflows arrive from the Manjeera catchment areas in Karnataka and Maharashtra during the rainy season.
Officials recalled that unprecedented inflows last year forced large-scale downstream releases from the project, leading to flooding around the Edupayala Durga Bhavani temple on the Manjeera river.
Repair works at the dam are progressing rapidly and are expected to be completed within the next two to three months. Officials said that there would be no major disruption to drinking water supply or irrigation for nearly 40,000 acres downstream of the project.