Water Blockade In Tungabhadra Dam Causes Concerns

The Tungabhadra dam, which is located near Hospet, Karnataka, this year around received minimum rainfall, causing drought in Anantapur, Kadapa and Kurnool.

As per sources, the Tungabhadra dam, which usually receives 100 tmc of water, has received less than 50 tmc this year. This has lead to water shortage throughout the three regions. This is causing drinking and irrigation problems to the inhabitants of the 3 regions. The high-level main canal of the dam has also been severely affected, as it has only received only 24.5 tmc of water.

The shortage of water has supposedly caused Karnataka to partially block the flow of the river water to Andhra Pradesh (Tungabhadra is a tributary of the Krishna river).

In AP alone, Tungabhadra helps cultivate around one lakh acres of land. Due to low rainfall, the Rayadurg and Uravakonda regions in the Anantapur district have become drought prone. The recent rains in the State eased the situation a few weeks ago there, but the drought has returned and farmers are finding it difficult to irrigate their fields. Around 36,000 acres of farming area in the three districts have been estimated to be under-cultivated due to the drought.

Power generation at the Ballari Thermal Power Station (BTPS), too, has taken a beating owing to water shortage at the dam. The AP government has allocated 0.21 tmc of water to the BTPS for power generation alone.

As per irrigation officials, the water at the dam will remain blocked till the end of October.