Uttam Directs Officials To Ensure Crops In Last Stage Get Extended Wetting

Hyderabad: Irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy instructed officials to take urgent measures to ensure water supply to vital Rabi crops in the final stages of growth. He emphasized the importance of using available water optimally for this purpose in all irrigation projects.

In a series of emergency review meetings held on Sunday, Uttam Kumar Reddy also made it clear that the chief engineers will be directly responsible for the most optimum use of available water. He listed two clear priorities: ensuring that no product dries out; To ensure the preservation of remaining water reserves for drinking water needs. He also emphasized the importance of initiating a comprehensive study of desiltation and sedimentation of tanks and reservoirs.

So far, irrigation support has been extended to crops in 6.3 lakh acres of ayacut under Nagarjunasagar left canal. Uttam Kumar Reddy stated that most of the harvesting operation is over. “Wherever the crop needs irrigation, irrigation must be provided,” he said, and instructed the authorities to fill all tanks to meet the drinking water needs before the canals close for the season.

He instructed the authorities to complete the repairs on the Jurala project due to the war. The project storage area stands at 1.66 tmc ft and an estimated 0.5 tmc ft of regenerated water from Narayanpur is expected to be added to the project level. A potential shortfall of 0.5 tmc ft is likely if flows do not arrive on time, officials said. Last year, a TMC of water was arranged from Karnataka.

Uttam Kumar Reddy directed the officials to ensure that all irrigation sources are brought under purification. He instructed the authorities to urgently prepare proposals with pre-feasibility data for tanks and projects. He called for wherever public access is possible, the silt removed during desiltation to be made available free of charge to farmers as natural fertilizer to enrich their soil on land. He directed officials to submit detailed proposals within two days to undertake clean-up work as a department in cases where public access is not possible.