VIJAYAWADA/KURNOOL: From June 1 to October 18, record 1,005 tmc of water was released into the sea from Prakasam Barrage, the highest in the last 16 years, officials said.As rains are expected for another fortnight, inflows from the upper catchment areas may continue till November first week. In all likelihood, a new record for the release of water from the barrage will be set during the current water year (from June 1 to May 31, 2021). Last water year, 799 tmc was released from Prakasam Barrage.
“After the current water year commenced on June 1, no surplus water was released from the barrage in June. In July, 6.1 tmc was released downstream in nine days; in August, 146.73 tmc was released in a span of 22 days. However, the highest volume of surplus water—471.83 tmc—was released in 24 days of September. This month (October) so far, we have released 380.78 tmc in 18 days,” explained a senior engineer of the Irrigation Department (Krishna circle).
The increased inflows are expected to recharge the groundwater table and take care of the groundwater needs for the next three years. Meanwhile, a falling trend was observed in the inflows to Prakasam Barrage on Monday evening. The inflows and outflows fell down to 4,90,980 cusecs (as on 6 pm) from 5,63,222 cusecs 12 hours ago. The second warning issued at the barrage was withdrawn around 5:30 am. However, the first warning continues.
Irrigation officials said the situation might change in the next 24 hours with the Met department predicting heavy rainfall in Telangana and other catchment areas of the Krishna and its tributaries. Also, more outflows from the Pulichintala project are likely to impact the inflows to Prakasam Barrage. An alert has been sounded along the river course downstream of Pulichintala.
Meanwhile, a falling trend in the flood situation was also seen at the Srisailam project in Kurnool district. At 6 pm, the total inflows were 4,94,075 cusecs, while the flood discharge was 5,07,916 cusecs. Ten crest gates were lifted to a 20-feet height to release the surplus water. A total of 210.9946 tmc of water was available against the project’s total capacity of 215.8070 tmc and the water-level reached 884.20 feet against the full reservoir level (FRL) of 885 feet.
In the meantime, officials drew 2,026 cusecs from the Malyala lift irrigation scheme and 7,000 cusecs from the Pothireddypadu head regulator. Apart from this, the AP power house officials were using 26,530 cusecs from the dam to generate hydropower. With heavy rains in upper catchment areas in Karnataka and Maharashtra, a high alert has been sounded in low-lying areas along the river course in Kurnool district.
The Central Water Commission, in its daily flood report, advised caution in Godavari basin in view of heavy rains in the upper catchment areas of the Godavari and its tributaries. Due to low pressure in the Bay of Bengal, Manjeera, Maneru, and lower Godavari may receive very high rainfall over the next two days, it said.
‘Crops in 17,030 hectares in Krishna dist damaged’
As per the initial estimates, recent floods in the Krishna have damaged crops in 17,030 hectares, out of which 6,192 hectares were being used to grow fruit crops, Krishna collector A Md Imtiaz said. “As many as 47,943 persons in 30 villages were affected after the floods and torrential rains; 10,513 persons have been relocated to 38 rehabilitation centres arranged across the district. As many as 256 houses were damaged and 4,788 were inundated,” the collector said at a meeting with Ministers Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy and Perni Venkataramaiah, here on Sunday. Imtiaz added that 44 medical camps were arranged in the flood-affected areas to extend medical support to the affected. In terms of livestock losses, six cattle and 1,000 hens were killed. In all, roads in 834 km were damaged, out of which 213 km were Panchayat roads and 419 km were R&B roads.