RAJANNA-SIRCILLA: The Mid Manair Reservoir (MMR), popularly known as the water hub for water distribution to other irrigation projects like Lower Manair Dam, Ananthagiri projects, is now nearing dead storage. As against the reservoir’s original capacity of 27.55 tmc, only 5.9 tmc of water is currently available in the reservoir.
Due to a prevalent heatwave condition, the water is evaporating, leaving nothing for drinking. Each day, about 50 cusecs of water is being supplied for drinking to Rajanna-Sircilla district and Gangadhar and Choppaddandi mandals of Karimnagar district through Mission Bhagiratha. However, around 182 cusecs of water is evaporating daily, revealed Irrigation Executive Engineer B Jagan.
With no sign of any water source from the Sriram Sagar Project (SRSP) and the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP), if the water levels in the MMR fall further, drinking water supplied through Mission Bhagiratha would be majorly impacted. As per Mission Bhagiratha authorities, if the level of water in MMR reaches 3.82 tmc, an alternate action plan for drinking water supply will have to be devised.
Irrigation EE B Jagan told TNIE that despite ceasing water supply for irrigation of Rabi crop, only 1.5 tmc of water was released to the Lower Manair Dam for drinking water purposes.
According to weather reports, the temperature is scoring 400 C on a daily basis and on Friday, it touched 420 C in Rajanna-Sircilla and the MMR area.
Due to decreasing water levels, villages connected to MMR have started to look like deserts.