Telangana: Farmers worried over drying reservoirs in Siddipet

Siddipet: The uncertainty in pumping water into the four reservoirs constructed under the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) in Siddipet district is worrying farmers in erstwhile Medak district and parts of Yadadri-Bhongir district. Since water was released from the Medigadda barrage constructed across the Godavari to pump water into these reservoirs through Mid Maner, the possibility of pumping water from here appears bleak under the present circumstances. Irrigation officials were planning to pump water from the Yellampalli project if they got adequate water from the upstream of the Godavari. However, there are no signs of getting water from the upstream yet, as the Babli project, SRSP in Maharashtra and Yellampalli in Telangana were empty even after the southwest monsoon became active. The four reservoirs constructed in Siddipet were Ananthagiri reservoir, Ranganayaka Sagar, Kondapochamma Sagar and Mallanna Sagar.

The Ananthagiri reservoir, built between Siddipet and Rajanna Sircilla districts to meet the irrigation needs of both the districts, had 0.73 TMC of water against its full storage capacity of 3.5 TMC. Siddipet town, Siddipet rural, Chinnakodur, Narayanaraopet, Cheriyala, Maddur and parts of Nanganur mandals of Siddipet district and Ilanthakunta, Mustabad and Tangalapally mandals of Sircilla district will get irrigation water from Ananthagiri. The ayacut proposed under the project is 30,000 acres, but they can provide irrigation water to 15,000 acres as work is underway on several canals. The water will be lifted from Ananthagiri to Ranganayaka Sagar constructed at Chandlapur close to Siddipet town. The project is the source of irrigation water for Siddipet, Siddipet rural, Narayanaraopet, Chinnakodur, Nanganur, Dubbak, Kondapak and parts of Kukunoorpalli mandal. The project had 0.70 TMC water against the full reservoir level of 3 TMC. The water available now will be sufficient to meet drinking water needs. The ayacut proposed under the project is 1.10 lakh acres. However, the irrigation department could provide water for 65,000 acres as some canals were incomplete. The full reservoir level of Kondapochamma Sagar constructed in Gajwel constituency is 15 TMC but it had only 4.5 TMC water. The ayacut proposed under the project is 2.85 lakh acres in Mulugu, Jagadevapur and Markook mandals of Gajwel constituency and Turkapalli, Aler and Rajapet mandals of Yadadri-Bhongir district but they could provide irrigation water to only 60,000 acres till the last Yasangi as the canal work was still in progress.
The largest reservoir under KLIS was constructed in Dubbak constituency with a storage capacity of 50 TMC. The project now has only a little over 8 TMC of water. The ayacut proposed under the project is 1.25 lakh acres. Besides, these reservoirs will dam 2,000 minor irrigation tanks in the erstwhile Medak district and provide water to Peddavagu, Kudaveli, Haldi and other rivers, which have dozens of check dams on them. With the delay in pumping of water, farmers also delayed planting paddy nurseries. Farmers in Siddipet and Medak districts will cultivate paddy in 7 lakh acres, which may be affected due to the delay in pumping. Speaking to Telangana Today, Lingam, a farmer from Chandalapur, said Siddipet farmers used to look up to the skies for rains until four years ago, following which former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao constructed Ranganayaka Sagar. Since then, the face of agriculture has changed more than ever. However, now they are forced to look up to the skies again due to lack of water in the projects, he said.