Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy here on Friday directed Mahbubnagar district Collector Girija Shankar and senior officials of the Irrigation department to conserve every drop of water and protect the crops under the Jurala project from withering.
As Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy was not able to write to his Karnataka counterpart in this regard due to election code in force in that State, Chief Secretary Minnie Mathew wrote to her Karnataka counterpart S.V. Ranganath requesting him to release 3 tmcft of water from Narayanapur reservoir to the Jurala project via the river Krishna for protecting the standing crops under the Jurala project.
According to a pressnote from the Chief Minister’s Office, the river Krishna in the State had received only 197 tmcft of water as against the normal 821 tmcft this year due to scanty rainfall. As the Jurala reservoir has one tmcft of water as against the necessity of three tmcft in the summer months, there is no possibility of pumping water for protecting crops in 18,000 acres under Jurala project and meeting the drinking water needs.
Though rabi needs of Karnataka farmers were met by February 20, the neighboring State did not release even a single drop of water from the Narayanpur dam to the Jurala reservoir. As a result, the lower parts of the Jurala project in Mahbubnagar district were facing acute shortage of water. Under the circumstances, Chief Secretary Minnie Mathew has written to her Karnataka counterpart requesting him to release 3 tmcft of water from Narayanpur dam to the Jurala project immediately keeping in view the alarming situation in Andhra Pradesh. (NSS)