Kakinada: IAB Approves Water Release to Entire 53,000-Acre Yeleru Ayacut
Kakinada, July 28 (TNT): The Special Irrigation Advisory Board (IAB) on Tuesday approved the release of irrigation water to the entire 53,000-acre ayacut under the Yeleru Reservoir, subject to water availability, to benefit farmers in Kakinada district.
The decision was taken at a special IAB meeting held at the Collectorate under the chairmanship of District Collector M.N. Harendhira Prasad.
The board also resolved to release 1,000 cusecs of water from the reservoir, depending on the available storage.
The release will cover about 22,000 acres in Pithapuram Assembly constituency besides the ayacut in Peddapuram and Jaggampeta constituencies.
Briefing mediapersons after the meeting, the Collector said priority would be given to tail-end farmers, with irrigation water first reaching areas such as Ramanakkapeta and Aminabada before being supplied to other ayacut areas in a phased and regulated manner.
In view of the prevailing dry spell, he advised farmers to cultivate irrigated dry crops requiring less water and cautioned against large-scale paddy transplantation.
He also urged farmers to enrol in crop insurance schemes to safeguard against possible losses.
Harendhira Prasad said efforts were under way to augment water availability in the Yeleru Reservoir by diverting water through the Purushothapatnam Lift Irrigation Scheme, subject to the availability of water in the Godavari River.
He said the decisions were taken in accordance with the directions of Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, with the objective of protecting farmers’ interests.
Officials of the Irrigation, Agriculture and Revenue departments will jointly monitor water distribution to ensure supplies reach the tail-end ayacut, the Collector said.
The board also decided to organise special prayers for good rainfall alongside measures for scientific management of available water resources.
Kakinada MP Thangella Uday Srinivas, MLC Pidugu Hariprasad, Irrigation Engineer-in-Chief K. Narasimha Murthy, DCCB Chairman Tummala Ramaswamy, legislators and senior officials attended the meeting.
TNT TMR
