Quiet flows River Krishna at projects downstream

HYDERABAD: Major projects built on River Krishna in the upper riparian States of Maharashtra and Karnataka are brimming with water, whereas projects and the respective command areas in the Telugu States are facing bleak vanakalam (Kharif) prospects with their project reservoirs touching dead storage levels.

The State of Telangana has received fairly good rains since the onset of the monsoon this year, compared to the sibling State of Andhra Pradesh. While 15 districts in Telangana received excess rainfall as of August 28, 2023, 18 districts received normal rainfall. On the other hand, only three districts namely Krishna, Guntur and Bapatla received good rainfall in Andhra Pradesh and all other districts are reeling under deficit rainfall.

Almatti project in Bijapur district of Karnataka has a current storage of 127.1 TMC of water which is almost 97.98 percent of its total capacity. Down the stream in Karnataka is the Narayanpur (Basava Sagara) project which has 28.06 TMC of water in its reservoir almost 74.55 percent of its capacity. The Priyadarshini Jurala project (PJP) in Telangana which receives water from the Narayanpur project also has a fair amount of water in its storage. Position in PJP on Monday is 7.43 TMC which is 76.92 percent of its total storage capacity.

Trouble is brewing with regard to the Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam projects where the inflows are zero and water has to be released for drinking and irrigation requirements of people in southern Telangana and parts of Andhra Pradesh including Rayalaseema.

Last year on August 28, the total storage available from projects on River Krishna was 571.87 TMC (96.98 percent) compared to this year's position of 275.2 TMC which is 46.67 percent of the total capacity. At the Srisailam project that caters to the drinking, power and irrigation requirements of both the Telugu States, the water level at 3 pm on Monday is 854.72 feet, current storage is 91.01 TMC meaning that it has just 42.17 percent of the water out of its total water holding capacity. The inflows are zero and the outflows are also zero indicating that even hydel production has stopped.

Similarly, at Nagarjuna Sagar, the current storage is a mere 153.32 TMC which is 49.13 percent of its storage capacity. The inflows into Nagarjuna Sagar are zero and outflows are 1,350 cusecs. At Pulichintala the current storage is 22.64 TMC which is 49.47 percent. The inflows are nil but outflows to the Prakasam barrage are 3,000 cusecs.

Meanwhile, the Telangana Government has complained to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) that Andhra Pradesh has been drawing more water than it was allowed to do from common reservoirs. “Last year Andhra Pradesh drew 205.20 TMC excess water than its entitlement, while Telangana saved water from its entitlement and was prudent in utilising it for drinking water purposes. Telangana saved 17 TMC of water in Nagarjuna Sagar for use in the current season.