Hyderabad:It may be stricken, may have been the subject of various investigations and probes, and got embroiled in one of the biggest political battles in Telangana, but the Medigadda barrage on Godavari river, currently out of service, is the one where most water is expected to flow through when monsoon rain revives in what is being feared will be a deficit year.
Though rain is expected to resume in the next few days over Telangana, and in catchment areas in the upper reaches of the river, neither Medigadda, nor its upstream sister barrages at Annaram and Sundilla, all three part of the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme (KLIS), can be used as they are awaiting repairs.
According to sources in the government who are keeping a close watch on rain forecasts, and how that rain may translate into flows in Godavari, and the Pranahita which joins the river upstream of Medigadda, the barrage could see anywhere from 3,000 cusecs to 3,800 cusecs of water each day till the end of this month, and expected to go much higher in the first week of July.
According to projections, based on rainfall models by the India Meteorological Department, and the European Centre for Medium-Range Forecasts, Medigadda barrage could see as much as 300 tmc ft of water till July last week. In a normal rain year, according to a Central Water Commission’s assessment, the total flow there varies from 2,000 tmc ft to 2,700 tmc ft. While this year the flows may not be as good, what comes there is still substantial and efforts should be made to tap it, the sources said.
A senior official well versed in the issues relating to Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla barrages, said instead of waiting for full repairs, the government could adopt a simple temporary solution. “All it requires is construction of coffer dams in upstream locations of these barrages. They can store, and regulate flows, and water can easily be pumped from Medigadda to Annaram, and then to Sundilla and finally to Sripada Yellampalli reservoir as envisaged in the KLIS system,” the official said.
Since the KLIS barrages are a politically loaded issue, it is doubtful if the government would even consider such an idea. “But there is no point in seeing all that water go waste, especially as the ability to pump that water exists,” the official added.
“In a year like this, any water that can be used is pure gold. The best part of this solution is that coffer dams do not cost much, can be built easily and quickly. In fact, water can be pumped from Medigadda even without a full coffer dam. All they have to do is to build one to protect the damaged block 7, and begin pumping once the rest of the gates are closed,” another source said. “And proper coffer dams can be built at the other two,” the source added.
“If the monsoon indeed fails overall, then it could to a pass where people will ask questions on why Godavari water was not tapped. If things turn bad, that could result in widespread anger among people,” another senior government official said.
Current storages on Godavari/tributaries
Project – Available water* – Additional capacity*
Singur – 4.54 – 25.37
Nizam Sagar – 6.74 – 11.06
Sri Ram Sagar Project – 19.18 – 61.32
Kaddam – 0.38 – 3.11
Yellampalli – 7.83 – 12.35
Upper Manair – 0.65 – 1.55
Mid Manair – 8.37 – 19.13
Lower Manair – 5.99 – 18.08
*in TMCft
Sri Ram Sagar Project – 5
Yellampalli – 1
Kaddam – 2
Mid Manair – .5
Lower Manair – .8
Singur – .7
Nizam Sagar – 2.5
Sundilla – 3.5
Annaram – 3.5
Medigadda – 310
*Approximate inflows in TMCft
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
