Copious inflows into Telangana projects, officials caution downstream areas

HYDERABAD: With incessant rains lashing out Telangana for the last couple of days, water levels in various projects have been steadily rising, prompting authorities to take precautionary measures to prevent flooding and ensure the safety of residents in low-lying areas.

Telangana Irrigation Special Chief Secretary Rajat Kumar on Tuesday advised the officials of Kaleshwaram and other irrigation projects to alert people in downstream areas. Heavy floods poured into the Nizam Sagar project, on Tuesday. Around 36,500 cusecs of flood water arrived at the project on Monday. The project officials raised five gates of the project and released around 30,000 cusecs of water into the lower Manjira River.

The project officials said that the full water level of the project had reached 1,404.40 feet out of 1,405 feet and the full water capacity of the project had reached 17.802 TMC from 16.930 TMC. The number of gates lifted would be increased or decreased based on the inflow from the upper areas. The officials advised the people of the Manjira catchment area to be vigilant given the ongoing outflow through the project gates.

In the erstwhile Nizamabad, flood flow continued into to the Sriram Sagar project (SRSP). The inflows stood at 75,100 cusecs into the reservoir. The officials had lifted 16 gates and 64,038 cusecs of water were released downstream. A total of 90 TMC of water could be stored in the project. The project had already reached its maximum level due to the massive flood. In Karimnagar district, floodgates of Lower Manair Dam (LMD) were lifted to release water downstream on Tuesday.

The LMD was receiving more than 52,000 cusecs of water, which included around 32,000 cusecs from Mid Manair Dam. The officials had lifted six gates at Mid Manair Dam to release around 32,610 cusecs of water downstream. The project was receiving water from SRSP and Mulavagu.

Heavy inflows into the Sripada Yellampalli project on River Godavari were also reported. The project was receiving around 1,01, 818 cusecs and the inflows into SRSP were 61,100 cusecs. At the Priyadarshini Jurala project on River Krishna, the inflows were around 25,000 cusecs out of which 315 cusecs were released for the Koilsagar lift.