VIJAYAWADA: The State Water Resources Department has invited tenders for preparation of detailed project reports (DPRs) for the two barrages proposed downstream of Prakasam Barrage that were recently sanctioned to tap the surplus Krishna water that goes into the sea during floods. As of Friday, the cumulative surplus let into the sea stood at 844 TMC, much higher than last year’s 798 TMC, and is expected to touch 900 TMC as the flood is expected to continue.
“We have invited tenders for preparation of DPRs and the bids can be filed till October 26. We will finalise the tenders (after reverse auction) by October 29. Three months will be given to prepare DPRs. In the first stage, we are focusing on land acquisition and readying the DPRs so projects can be launched by mid-2021,” superintending engineer of Vijayawada irrigation circle K Narasimha Murthy said.
The State Cabinet in September cleared the proposal for two barrages — one 12 km downstream Prakasam Barrage between Chodavaram in Penamaluru mandal of Krishna district and Ramachandrapuram in Mangalagiri mandal of Guntur district, and the other 62 km downstream between Bandikollanka in Mopidevi mandal of Krishna district and Ravi Anantavaram village in Repalle mandal of Guntur district — with a capacity of about 3 TMC each.
While the barrage at 12th km is estimated to cost Rs 1,215 crore, the second one is estimated to cost Rs 1,350 crore. The department released Rs 204.37 crore last month for preparation of DPRs and acquisition of land for both projects.
The officials said the financial concurrence for the projects is expected to be given next month. While the DPRs are expected to be ready by the end of January, the officials aim to launch the works in the new financial year by May/June.
The construction of barrages/check dams downstream Prakasam Barrage have been long-pending as the tail-end regions of Krishna delta still face water scarcity even when hundreds of TMCs of floodwater goes into the seas during flood years. In the last water year between June 1, 2019, and May 31, 2020, 798.27 TMC of water was let into the sea. This year, due to multiple spells of floods and continuous rainfall, 844.996 TMC has been let into the sea as of Friday.
While last year’s utilisation stood at 179.91 TMC, about 92.89 TMC has been utilised so far this year.
The two barrages will not only help in utilising surplus floodwater to meet the requirement of the region, but will also help in maintaining ecological balance as it would reduce salinity in the soil, which plagued the villages of the tail-end delta region over the years.
Huge inflows at Prakasam Barrage
With the flood expected to remain steady, officials said Prakasam Barrage was likely to receive a nine lakh cusecs of inflows by Friday night
A look
Water let into the sea between June 1, 2019 and May 31, 2020: 798.27 TMC
Water utilised between June 1, 2019 and May 31, 2020: 179.91 TMC
Water let into the sea between June 1, 2020
and October 16, 2020: 844.998 TMC
Water utilised between June 1, 2020 and October 16, 2020: 92.89 TMC