Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy will inaugurate the Pulichintala project at the dam site in Achampeta mandal in Guntur district at 11.50 a.m. on Saturday, according to an official release issued on Thursday.
Due to rapid development of command area under Nagarjuna Sagar project and similar projects on Krishna river in the upper reaches in Karnataka and Maharashtra, the Prakasam barrage has been getting and reduced inflows affecting the paddy crop. In order to make available timely supplies of water during the transplantation period the Pulichintala Project was constructed to form a terminal reservoir, the release said.
Dr KL Rao Sagar Pulichintala Project is a balancing reservoir constructed across river Krishna near Pulichinta village in Bellamkonda mandal in Guntur district and Vazinepalli village in Mellacheruvu mandal of Nalgonda district. The project is situated 85 km upstream of Prakasam barrage and 115 km downstream of Nagarjuna Sagar dam for storing 45.77 tmc water for stabilisation of existing Krishna delta ayacut of 13.08 lakh acres in Krishna, Guntur, West Godavari and Prakasam districts.
The project was first proposed in 1903 by Britisher Reid to construct a reservoir at Daida site about 82 miles upstream of Vijayawada. In 1911 Col. Ellis prepared a scheme for a reservoir across Krishna near Pulichintala about 52 miles upstream of Vijayawada. The detailed investigations was carried out in 1953. However, after the construction of Nagarjuna Sagar Project, Pulichintala reservoir was dropped as entire ayacut originally proposed to be irrigated under Pulichintala project was covered by Nagarjuna Sagar project.
The administrative approval was given in 2003 with an estimated cost of Rs 565.86 crore for constructing Pulichintala. The administrative approval was revised in 2005 with a cost of Rs 681.604 crore. The estimate was revised again in 2009 and the cost went up to Rs 1,281 crore.
Farmers will start receiving water from the project in the coming kharif season. The project will irrigate 13.08 lakh acres spread across Krishna, Guntur, West Godavari and Prakasam districts.
