Visakhapatnam: The accumulated silt in the reservoirs, which quench the thirst of Visakhapatnam including the Yeleru canal, has reduced the augmentation as well as storage capacity over the years.
Irrigation experts estimate that the build up of mud and silt in these reservoirs has eaten up to 15 per cent of the storage space, particularly the Yeleru canal. But lack of coordination between departments and the cost factor have been hitting the desilting proposals.
There was also no clarity as to who would foot the bill for the desilting works. Tatipudi, Yeleru, Meghadrigadda and Raiwada reservoirs are the major sources of water supply for the GVMC. But the storage capacity of these water resources had decreased due to the silt.
About a few years ago, the Visakhapatnam Industrial Water Supply Company (VIWSCO) in proposed association with the Dredging Corporation of India has submitted proposals to dredge the Yeleru canal and augment the capacity of the canal from the current 300 cusecs to 700 cusecs. But it was not carried forward.
On the other hand, the proposal of new pipelines for Yeleru Left Main Canal and Raiwada Canal to avoid non-revenue water has not made any headway.
Speaking to this correspondent, Prof. N. Subbarao of Geology Department of Andhra University informed that by desilting the reservoirs and the nearby catchment area, the water storage capacity of the reservoirs can be increased. “We could augment the storage capacity by at least 15 per cent at various reservoirs of the city,” he added.
GVMC Commissioner, Pravin Kumar, informed that there were proposals to desilt the reservoirs.
“As the majority of the reservoirs are in the realm of the Irrigation Department, that department as well as the government would take a final call on the matter,” he added.
