Telangana seeks ₹558 crore from Centre for irrigation restoration

Telangana seeks ₹558 crore from Centre for irrigation restoration

HYDERABAD

The State Government has requested the Centre to sanction ₹558 crore for taking up temporary and permanent irrigation restoration works, as over 773 irrigation tanks and canals, and pump houses suffered breaches during the recent heavy rains.

Minister for Irrigation N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said on Saturday that the Irrigation Department would take up restoration works on a war-footing by sanctioning the necessary funds. He asked the authorities to prepare an action plan for taking up restoration work on breached tanks, canals and check dams and flooded pump houses, to ensure steady water supply for Kharif crops.

He explained that Khammam, Suryapet, Mahabubabad and Mulugu districts had recorded 250 to 450 mm rainfall recently, and the Irrigation authorities had concluded that the Nagarjunasagar Left Canal had suffered a major breach at Kagitha Ramachandrapuram village in Suryapet district due to reverse water flow effect of the Palair reservoir backwater.

The canal breach had also led to the washing away and silting of farm fields in Kodad and Huzurnagar constituencies. He added that the government had decided to make use of the available funds for taking up restoration works and issued GO 45 releasing funds.

He also said that 265 minor irrigation tanks had suffered breaches. Similarly, canals of medium and major irrigation projects had suffered breaches at 132 locations and were damaged at another 83 points.

The Vattem pump house of Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) near Kummera village in Nagarkurnool district and pump house of Bhakta Ramadasu LIS in Khammam were also flooded. He stated that rains had already made 94 major and medium irrigation projects become surplus.