'Rayalaseema to get water from Pattiseema by mid-Sept.'

The Pattiseema project will help irrigate 25,000 acres of parched land in Rayalaseema and Krishna deltas, with every tmcft of Godavari river water being drawn through it, according to Chief Engineer (Pattiseema project) V.S. Ramesh Babu.

He said the project was aimed at bringing Godavari water to meet the irrigation and drinking water needs of Krishna and its neighbouring districts and Rayalaseema before the Polavaram project would be completed in four years, he said.

Delivering a lecture on 'Concept of Godavari-Krishna River Link (Pattiseema-Polavaram Right Main Canal)’ organised by the city-based NGO Friends on Same Wave Length Society (FOSWL) recently, Mr. Ramesh Babu said water would start flowing from Pattiseema by the second week of September and 24 pumps would eventually lift 8,500 cusecs from the Godavari into the Krishna.

Pattiseema would be useful for Krishna delta which faced an unprecedented crisis due to wastage of water in the normal course and inter-State disputes over riparian rights.

The Godavari waters would make up for the loss to a large extent.

'It is estimated that 3,000 tmcft of water goes waste into the Bay of Bengal every year. Since the Polavaram Right Main Canal is almost ready, it is being used to divert Godavari waters through Pattiseema. It is not wise to wait for completion of the main project (Polavaram),' he pointed out.


THE HINDU