The Union Jal Shakti ministry has requested that the Andhra Pradesh government, in coordination with the Telangana government, conduct a joint survey on the impact of the backwaters of the Polavaram major irrigation project on the areas of Telangana, particularly the temple town of Bhadrachalam and the surrounding areas during the annual flood season.
Officials from the Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation began the excavation of pressure tunnels for the Polavaram Hydroelectric Power Station in Polavaram, West Godavari, on Saturday. (ANI)
M Raghuram, member secretary of the Union ministry of Jal Sakthi, reminded Shashi Bhushan Kumar, principal secretary of the water resources department of Andhra Pradesh, in a letter he sent on Wednesday that the representatives of both Telugu states gave their approval for a joint survey of the Polavaram backwaters at a meeting held by the ministry on January 25.
“Based on the results of the survey, the Polavaram Project Authority and the government of Andhra Pradesh shall take whatever actions deemed essential.” In this regard, it is desired that coordination be made with Telangana and that the joint survey be completed as soon as possible so that further action can be taken,” said Raghuram.
A senior official of the Telangana irrigation department stated that the survey would determine the extent of Telangana’s submergence areas if the water level in Polavaram reservoir is maintained at full reservoir level 45.72 metres and the minimum level 41.15 metres during the peak flood season (July to September).
It would also examine the impact of Polavaram’s backwaters on streams and tributaries such as Kinnerasani and Sabari, which could swell as a result of the impact, resulting in the submergence of a greater number of places than anticipated when the project was developed.
During the Godavari river floods in July of last year, the water level at Bhadrachalam reached 71.3 feet due to a discharge of 24.88 lakh cusecs, which was the second highest after 1986. As a result, hundreds of villages and thousands of acres of standing crops were submerged.
Following the floods, Rajat Kumar, Telangana’s irrigation chief secretary, wrote letters to the Union ministry expressing concern that once the Polavaram project is completed, there will be massive submergence along a 30 km stretch upstream from the Telangana-AP border on either side of the Godavari river.
He noted that the Central Water Commission had engineered the Polavaram project’s spillway to discharge 50 lakh cusecs, as opposed to the 36 lakh cusecs that had been initially envisaged. This would have a significantly greater submergence effect in Telangana, resulting in more flood peak attenuation.
“This will endanger the historic Temple town of Bhadrachalam and its neighbouring villages, as well as the vital Manuguru Heavy Water Plant and Bhadradri Thermal plant, both of which are upstream of Polavaram,” added Kumar.
In the meantime, a committee of high-level experts appointed by the Telangana government and led by irrigation engineer-in-chief (operations and maintenance) Nagendra Rao to investigate the causes of the submergence of Bhadrachalam temple town and its environs during the floods of the previous year, submitted its report on Wednesday.
The above-mentioned irrigation official stated that the committee concurred that the Polavaram project’s backwaters had a negative influence on Bhadrachalam. During last year’s floods, the flood flow in the temple town was 24,22 million cusecs, whereas it was only 21,59 million cusecs.
“This is because the backwaters of Polavaram impeded the flow of water from various tributaries, such as Sabari and Kinnerasani, into the Godavari river. This led in the flooding of 40,000 acres of crops and many locations surrounding Bhadrachalam, affecting 28,000 individuals, according to the report.
The committee recommended that the government adopt a number of steps to prevent floods in Bhadrachalam and its environs, including the construction of protection walls and cross-drainage structures at a cost of 1,629 crore and the reinforcement of embankments along the Godavari River. Also proposed was the provision of compensation to those who will be displaced from the colonies that have sprung up along the riverbank in Bhadrachalam.
