GUNTUR: As much as 130 tmc of water has been allocated to the Nagarjuna Sagar right canal to meet drinking and irrigation needs of Guntur and Prakasam districts, Housing and Guntur district in-charge Minister Ch Sriranganadha Raju has announced.
In a review meeting with officials concerned here, the minister said the project’s right canal serves an ayacut of 6,24,930 acres in Guntur. “Almost 75 tmc is needed for irrigation and 10 tmc more for drinking purpose in the district alone. So the authorities are releasing the required quantity of water from Thursday. Over 2.33 lakh acres of wet lands and 3.91 acres of dry lands are cultivable lands in 36 mandals of Guntur district under the right canal,” he said and directed the officials to ensure that paddy sowing is completed on or before October 1, and drinking water tanks are filled.
Asking officials to encourage cultivation of horticulture crops as well, Sriranganadha Raju noted that the district is famous for chilly, cotton and commercial crops produced on a large scale, which can be more profitable to the farmers. “The government has issued 40,000 cards to tenant farmers and aims to distribute 2.46 lakh more in the district,” he added.