VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh is confronting a deepening monsoon crisis as 15 districts reel under deficient rainfall and reservoir storage has fallen sharply, raising concerns over kharif cultivation, irrigation, drinking water supply and hydropower generation. The state has received 73.8 mm of rainfall against the normal 100.6 mm between June 1 and July 4, registering an overall 26.6 percent rainfall deficit, while water storage in major and medium reservoirs remains significantly lower than the corresponding period last year.
The prolonged dry spell has slowed progress of the southwest monsoon across large parts of the state, reducing inflows into reservoirs and increasing pressure on available water resources. With July being the most crucial month for the kharif season, officials are closely monitoring the rainfall situation and reservoir levels.
According to the latest APWRIMS data, 15 districts have recorded deficient rainfall, while NTR district is the only district to register excess rainfall, receiving 25.4 per cent above normal precipitation.
Districts witnessing severe rainfall shortages include Visakhapatnam (-50.4%), Alluri Sitharama Raju (-49%), Annamayya (-49%), West Godavari (-46%), East Godavari (-44.7%), Parvathipuram Manyam (-41.9%), Konaseema (-41.7%), Srikakulam (-39.7%), Tirupati (-36.8%), Chittoor (-34.9%), Polavaram (-34.4%), YSR Kadapa (-32.2%), Prakasam (-25.6%) and Vizianagaram (-25.4%), while another district also remained under the deficient category.
Only a few districts, including Krishna, Eluru, Guntur, Bapatla, Kurnool, Nandyal, Anantapuramu, Sri Sathya Sai, SPSR Nellore and Markapuram, have received rainfall within the normal range, highlighting the uneven spread of monsoon showers across the state.
The weak monsoon has also impacted reservoir storage. The 33 major and 80 medium reservoirs in the state have a combined gross storage capacity of 1,106.359 TMC. As on July 4, they contained 414.803 TMC, accounting for 37.49 per cent of the total capacity, compared with 558.992 TMC (50.53 per cent) during the corresponding period last year. The current storage is over 144 TMC lower than last year’s level.
Meanwhile, the Water Resources Department is managing irrigation with the limited water available. Officials are releasing about 2,800 cusecs of water from the Prakasam Barrage to Krishna delta, including 2,000 cusecs drawn from the Pulichintala Project, to maintain supplies to the Krishna Delta.Currently 1500 cusecs of water is being released for Ryves canal, 500 for Bandar direct, another 500 cusecs for Eluru, and 300 cusecs for KEB.
KC Division Executive Engineer Ravi said water supply is being continued to the main canals, while releases to distributary canals will be regulated depending on availability. The department is now banking on the arrival of Godavari floodwaters after July 20. Once adequate inflows are received, water will be lifted through the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Scheme and diverted to the Krishna basin.
