Fourteen of the total 26 crest gates of Nagarjunasagar Project were lifted on Sunday evening as discharge from Srisailam Project nearly brimmed the 590-foot reservoir.
Officials earlier had estimated the gate operation to take place on Monday, reportedly in the presence of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao. However, with close to 5 lakh cusecs of waters being received, the Project officials decided to operate the gates at around 6 p.m.
Superintending Engineer Dharma Naik initially operated four of the gates and gradually 10 others were lifted to discharge about 1.30 lakh cusecs into the downstream Pulichintala Project and the Krishna delta. Mr. Naik said maintenance on all the gates was completed and the operation was smooth. The gates operation, with reference to previous years, is recorded early now. In 2019, with bountiful rains, all the 26 gates were lifted on August 12, a first since 2009. And the last year too, the gates were operated on August 20.
Prior to operating the gates, officials along with local leaders were also alerted to follow the Chief Minister’s instructions to release waters to the ayacut through the left canal.
Local legislator Nomula Bhagat, MP B. Lingaiah Yadav and Irrigation officials participated in prayers at the canal’s head regulator before switching on the motors. Later, showering flowers and clothes to the waters as a custom, the leaders said Telangana was blessed with bountiful rains every year since 2014, making irrigation to the ayacut possible for the two crop seasons.
Officials said water release will continue till all the major reservoirs and distributaries in the ayacut of Nalgonda and Khammam are filled, and as per the schedule On-Off method will be followed between respective phases.
