Hyderabad may go Bengaluru way

•  Water levels in Singur, Nagarjuna Sagar and Yellampalli depleting faster than previous year
•  Singur reservoir level at 18 tmc ft as against 20 tmc ft last year. Installed capacity at Singur is 29 tmc ft
•  Nagarjuna Sagar level reduced to 137 tmc ft when it was 166 tmc ft last year. The total storage capacity of the Sagar reservoir was 312 tmc ft.
•  Yellampalli level at 7.87 tmc ft as against 12 tmc ft last year. Total capacity is 20 tmc ft

Hyderabad: The State government was in a catch-22 situation regarding the supply of water for drinking and irrigation needs. Water levels in the reservoirs had gone below last year’s level. The situation is so grave that the water resources would suffice for this month. The situation could become worse like the one Bengaluru city is facing now, warn experts.

Water levels in the reservoirs, mainly- Singur, Nagarjuna Sagar and Yellampalli, were depleting faster than the previous year.

Top irrigation officials said that water storage in the Singur reservoir was only 18 tmc ft as against 20 tmc ft last year on the same day. The installed water capacity at Singur was 29 tmc ft. Sagar water level has also reduced to 137 tmc ft when it was 166 tmc ft last year. The total storage capacity of the Sagar reservoir was 312 tmc ft.

The water levels at Sripada Yellampalli project on River Godavari were depletion due to scorching heat. Notwithstanding the claims of BRS, the fact is that the reservoirs received low water in flows from the catchment areas due to scanty rainfall in the last monsoon season.

Currently, the available water in Yellampalli was only 7.87 tmc ft as against 12 tmc ft last year on the same day.

Total storage capacity of the reservoir is 20 tmc ft, officials said that “the government chalked out an action plan for the judicious utilization of the available water resources for drinking water needs.

But the big challenge before the government was to fetch water for drinking needs of Hyderabad, Karimangar, Warangal and other big cities in the state by using water from the three major reservoirs.

But one problem it was facing was the mounting pressure from farmers and criticism of opposition parties alleging that it was ignoring farmers’ need for irrigation water. To put a check to such criticism and keeping farmers’ interests in view, the government released some water from Gayatri pump house under Kaleshwaram for irrigation purpose and water from Yellampally was also being released depending on the irrigation needs.

While the government claims that apart from scanty rainfall, the damages to Medigadda and Annaram projects due to alleged Kaleshwaram scam was responsible for this difficult situation. “The state is passing through a tough situation and the government is struggling to find a solution to address the irrigation and drinking water needs,” said sources.

Some standing crops require water to sustain them in Karimnagar, Warangal and Medak districts where the water scarcity was high in the current summer season. The South Telangana districts were also reeling under drought situation due to water shortage in the Krishna basin reservoirs.