Heavy inflows to Kaleshwaram in Telangana, Prakasam Barrage in AP; coal production affected in Singareni

HYDERABAD: Incessant rains have brought heavy inflows into major projects of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. However, rains affected coal production in the opencast mines of Singareni, submerged low-lying areas in many places, and affected normal life.

At Lakshmi barrage of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) in Medigadda the water level almost reached 95 meters out of 100 meters as massive inflows of 5,33,970 cusecs reached the barrage. In all 75 out of the 85 gates of the barrage were opened and water was let out of the project.

At the Sarswathi barrage in Annaram under KLIP too heavy inflows of 1,26,884 cusecs were reported on Wednesday morning and the water level in the barrage was 116.97 metres out of the total level of 119 metres.

At Lower Manair dam also a part of the KLIP, the inflows were 8,730 cusecs and outflows were 257 cusecs. The dam was brimming with water with levels reaching 276.15 meters against 280.480 metres. The dam was holding 13.530 TMC of water on Wednesday at 6 am.

Musi in Spate

With heavy rains lashing its catchment areas water levels of the Musi River also raised to precarious levels. Musi flood water inundated the Rudravelli-Juluru low-level bridge completely halting traffic, Musi was in spate near Bibinagar of Yadadri Bhongir.

At the Musi project in Ketapalli mandal of Nalgonda district, authorities lifted five gates and released water down the stream. The inflows at the Musi project were 13,259 cusecs and outflows were 9,790 cusecs. The water level at the project was 642.50 feet against a total level of 645 feet.

Coal Production hit

Coal production in the opencast mines of Singareni collieries in the Kothagudem area was affected as water gushed and filled the open mines posing a threat to the lives of the coal miners. The average per day coal production of two lakh metric tonnes came down to 1.3 lakh MT, with the Koyagudem mine receiving a rainfall of 28 mm in just a day.

Krishna water released into Bay of Bengal

Over 51,940 cusecs of water was released into the Bay of Bengal from the Prakasam Barrage at Vijayawada the last barrage on River Krishna, by lifting 70 gates by one foot to ease pressure on the barrage. With seasonal streams of Munneru, Budameru and Paleru dumping huge quantities of water from catchment areas, the Prakasam barrage was brimming with water. Authorities cautioned those living on the banks of the river to be cautious.

In Vijayawada Durga temple authorities shut down ghat road when big boulders fell down from the hill due to heavy rains. Devotees arriving at the temple for darshan on ghat road were diverted to the Mallkharjuna Maha Mandapam walkway. Meanwhile, the engineering staff of the temple started removing the heavy boulders to reopen the busy ghat road.

Meanwhile, one person was injured when landslides caused by incessant rains hit his home in Kasturba Pet in Vijayawada. Local people urged authorities to protect people living on the hillocks close to the river.

At Priyadarshini Jurala the inflows were stable at 9,600 cusecs and 1,500 cusecs of Krishna water was released to Nettempadu lift and 1,300 cusecs to Bhima lift. Inflows at Srisailam were 7,700 cusecs, Nagarjuna Sagar 3,033 cusecs and Pulichintala 6,092 cusecs.