GRMB to meet on Aug. 13, KRMB on Aug. 14

GRMB to meet on Aug. 13, KRMB on Aug. 14

A meeting of the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) will be held here on August 13, where in Telangana will submit the detailed project report of the Sita Rama Lift Irrigation Scheme (SRLIS) and Sitamma Sagar multi-purpose project.

The SRLIS is taken up to supplement water to the 3.45 lakh acres of gap ayacut in the tail-end areas of the Nagarjunasagar Left Canal in Khammam, Bhadradri-Kothagudem and Mahabubabad districts as also creating new irrigation potential to 3.29 lakh acres by drawing/lifting 65.25 tmc ft of Godavari water.

The second component (Sitammasagar), a multi-purpose project, is taken up to generate 280 megawatts of hydro-electric power with a reservoir to store 36.57 tmc ft water and also to irrigate 1.13 lakh acres ayacut in Yellandu, Pinapaka (both in Bhadradri-Kothagudem) and Wyra (in Khammam) constituencies.

Member-Secretary of the River Board R. Azhagesan has informed the other member State Andhra Pradesh to attend the meeting. Initially, it was scheduled to be held on August 6 but was rescheduled following Telangana’s request.

Meanwhile, the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) is slated to meet virtually on August 14 to discuss the supply of drinking water to Chennai from the Srisailam project through the Pothireddypadu-Head Regulator and Telugu Ganga Canal. Member-Secretary of the River Board D.M. Raipure asked the two member States to attend the meeting.

As per the 1976-77 inter-state agreement among Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, the then combined AP was allowed to draw 1,500 cusecs (a total of 15 tmc ft including transmission and evaporation losses during the flood period with the three States pooling or contributing 5 tmc ft each) from Srisailam reservoir for supplying drinking water to Chennai through a 408 km long canal till AP-TN border.

Accordingly, Pothireddypadu Head Regulator was constructed with a drawal capacity of 11,150 cusecs to meet the needs of Srisailam Right Bank Canal too. However, in 2006 another 44,000 cusecs drawal capacity was added taking the total capacity of PRP-HR to over 55,000 cusecs excluding a service vent.