Store maximum water in reservoirs for future needs: CM tells officials

Hyderabad: Amidst heavy rains leading to flooding, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy along with Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy has directed the irrigation authorities to ensure that the floodwaters are utilised efficiently for future needs rather than letting them go to waste.

The officials were instructed to store water in reservoirs, tanks and ponds within the project areas. He highlighted the importance of preserving water resources, especially in times of such abundance due to the heavy rains upstream and the inflow from the Kadam project, which has filled the Sripada Yellampalli project in the Peddapalli district.

The floodgates of the Yellampalli project have been lifted to release excess water into the Godavari River. Additionally, the Chief Minister ordered that the incoming floodwater to Yellampalli be lifted to the maximum extent possible, ensuring that at least one TMC (Thousand Million Cubic feet) is drawn daily.

Revanth Reddy emphasised that the water should be lifted through the Nandi and Gayatri pump houses to fill the reservoirs.

He also instructed that water be consistently lifted to Mid Manair, Lower Manair Dam, as well as to Ranganayak Sagar and Mallanna Sagar reservoirs.

The Yellampalli project, with a capacity of 20 TMC, currently holds 18.45 TMC of water. Given the strong inflow from the Kadam project, water is being transferred to Mid Manair via the Nandi and Gayatri pump houses. Mid Manair, with a total capacity of 27 TMC, is currently storing 15 TMC. From there, over 14,000 cusecs (cubic feet per second) of water is being transferred to Lower Manair Dam, with an additional 6,400 cusecs being moved to Ranganayak Sagar through the Annapurna reservoir.

The Chief Minister also directed that water be pumped from Ranganayak Sagar to Mallanna Sagar and Kondapochamma Sagar reservoirs. Subsequently, water should be transferred from these locations to the Singur and Nizamsagar projects.

Meanwhile, currently, the Annapurna and Ranganayak Sagar reservoirs have a combined storage capacity of 7.52 TMC, while Mallanna Sagar, with a total capacity of 50 TMC, holds 11.43 TMC. Kondapochamma Sagar, with a capacity of 15 TMC, currently holds 7.91 TMC.

Following the guidelines of the Central Water Commission, Revanth Reddy stressed the need to store as much water as possible in the Mallanna Sagar and Kondapochamma Sagar reservoirs.

He advised that Mallanna Sagar should hold between 18 and 20 TMC and Kondapochamma Sagar should hold up to 10 TMC of water.

The Chief Minister also emphasised the importance of taking all necessary precautions during this period and maintaining vigilance. Furthermore, he ordered the transfer of water from Kondapochamma Sagar to the Nizamsagar project via the Haldi Vagu stream.