Water scarcity unlikely in Godavari delta of A.P. during kharif, says official
There would be no water scarcity for kharif operations in the Godavari delta, though it has received 70 per cent less rain when compared to
There would be no water scarcity for kharif operations in the Godavari delta, though it has received 70 per cent less rain when compared to last kharif by July end, Water Resources Department Engineer-In-Chief K. Narasimha Murthy said on Saturday. Canal water barely meets 30 per cent of the total irrigation requirement of the Godavari delta in the kharif season, while the rest is met from the monsoon rain. “The available water in the Godavari, including the 23 tmc ft at Polavaram Irrigation Project and daily inflows of 60,000 cusecs at Bhadrachalam, will be sufficient for the kharif requirement in the delta.
It will not suffer from the impact of El Niño,” Mr. Narasimha Murthy told the media here on Saturday. Around 10.30 lakh acres in the Godavari delta need irrigation water for kharif operations. Around 8.25 lakh acres of it are under paddy cultivation, while the rest are under coconut and aquaculture. “The water available in the Godavari will be sufficient for paddy, coconut and aquaculture in the entire Godavari delta,” said Mr. Narasima Murthy.
However, he advised farmers to go for alternative crops or short-duration paddy varieties in the upland region comprising the undivided East and West Godavari districts. Sileru water Referring to drawing water from Sileru, Mr. Narasimha Murthy said, “Andhra Pradesh is entitled to draw 30 tmc ft of water from the Sileru river. However, the inflows
into the Sileru in Odisha are also alarming, signalling that the hydropower generation is also likely to be hit soon.” By July 25, at least 14,700 cusecs of water are being released into the Godavari delta—4,900 cusecs to the Eastern Delta, 2,800 cusecs to the Central Delta and 7,000 cusecs to Western Delta for Kharif operations.
The BriefWire