The following Post was composed by Anil Prongs. You can follow him on his blog.
Andhra Pradesh is racing ahead in reaching historical milestones. One such historical feat that it achieved is completing the first major river linking project in South India and it is the fastest river integration project ever took up in India.
River linking project is linking rivers through reservoirs and canals. This primarily focuses on reducing floods and water shortages where the abundant monsoon water that is conserved in reservoirs is delivered using the river linking system to areas where water shortage persists, or in times of drought. It primarily does a balancing act in reducing the gap between water availability and the demand for water for irrigation, drinking, and industrial purpose.
There is a prolonged debate in the country since many years on this project where proponents say it answers the country’s water shortage problem while the opponents dispute that it involves large scale rehabilitation, environmental issues, water disputes with neighbouring countries and high costs. Whatever may be the outcome of the debate, a country like India with a high population must address its worsening water shortage crisis, and river linking project has an answer to this. There are many successful river linking systems implemented in the world some of them are Europa canal, Illinois waterway,or the Gulf intercostal waterway.
Andhra Pradesh is covered by three major river basins, the Godavari, the Krishna, and the Penna. The major problem lies in the Krishna basin where the river water is shared by Maharashtra, Karnataka and the newly created states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. According to the Brijesh Kumar tribunal, AP has been allocated 512 tmcft which must be shared between the Krishna delta region and Rayalaseema. With upper riparian states constructing illegal projects on Krishna river it is impossible to address the problem of water shortage in drought prone Rayalaseema and the requirements of the delta region.
One solution to this problem is to reduce the dependence of the Delta on Krishna water and transfer the surplus water to Srisailam,thereby distributing it to Rayalaseema through Pothireddypadu head regulator. This can be done by linking the Godavari river to Krishna. There is no problem with Godavari as surplus water is available and moreover about 3000 tmc of flood water is not utilized, which goes waste into Bay of Bengal. By linking, about 80 tmc of water can be transferred from Godavari to Krishna; moreover it is allowed according to the Bachawat tribunal.
The Polavaram project has been envisaged to link these rivers but the huge budget involved, central dependency, and disputes with neighbouring states may take atleast 5 or 7 years to complete. In order to find a speedy resolution to water scarcity in Rayalaseema, the government of Andhra Pradesh has come up with an alternative and that alternative is “Pattiseema Lift irrigation project”.
Built at a cost of 1300 crores, Pattiseema project uses the nearly completed Polavaram right canal, where the surplus flood water of Godavari is pumped to this canal. It then travels approximately 160 kms by gravity, finally joining Krishna at Vijayawada in the up waters of the Prakasam barrage. This project is designed such a way that only when the water level reaches above 15 metres is it considered as flooding water and is pumped by the motors, thus ensuring that Godavari delta ayacut is not affected.
The ayacut of this project is 1.8 lakh acres, the foundation stone was laid on 29th March, 2015 and the first phase was dedicated to the nation on 15th August 2015. It was finally completed on 29th March, 2016 exactly on the day when the foundation stone was laid—making it the fastest executed river integration project. Technologies like live video tracking were used to track the progress and the workers, irrigation officials and engineers who worked day and night to complete the project need a special appreciation.
In spite of many controversies, Pattiseema project is completed successfully in record time and the will and determination of the government of Andhra Pradesh has helped in making it a marvel. This is not the end, but just the beginning for more rivers to be linked, and let the ‘elixir of life’ reach every corner of this country.
Disclaimer: This article represents the opinions of the Author, and should not be considered a reflection of the views of the Andhra Cultural Portal. The Author is responsible for ensuring the factual veracity of the content, herein.
