SIDDIPET: Farmers growing paddy on 30,000 acres of land under the Annapurna Reservoir are concerned as water levels are dwindling to near depletion, with the rocky bottom of the project now visible. The reservoir has a capacity of 3.5 tmcft; however, currently, it holds only 0.8 tmcft of water.
The Annapurna Reservoir and Ranganayak Sagar project, which has a capacity of 3 tmcf and is situated between Siddipet and Sircilla, used to have abundant water levels as water was pumped regularly over the past four to five years from the Mid Manair dam. However, in recent months, water levels at the Annapurna project have plummeted. Official sources said that this is because pumping operations have ceased due to the unavailability of water at Mid Manair dam. It is learnt that crops under the Ranganayak Sagar have not encountered major irrigation issues thus far.
An Irrigation department official, on the condition of anonymity, said that in addition to water shortages at Mid Manair dam, issues at the Medigadda project could be a contributing factor to the problem in releasing water into the Annapurna project. The official revealed that in January, authorities had transferred one tmcft of water from the Annapurna project to the Ranganayak Sagar. It is also learnt that before the 2023 Assembly polls, officials from Siddipet had suggested to the then finance minister, T Harish Rao, the diversion of more water from the Godavari to the Annapurna and Ranganayak Sagar projects to avert future shortages. However, operations were hindered due to electricity supply issues.