Adilabad: Farmers who were cultivating under the Kadam ayacut were worried a lot over the declining water level in the project. It is learnt that the water level has come down to 683.175 ft against its full reservoir level of 700 ft on Monday. The dead storage of the project is 676 ft.
Farmers complain that irrigation officials not releasing water into canals from Kadam for the Rabi season.
People in a few mandals are also likely to face drinking water problems during this summer since Mission Bhagiratha water is being pumped to Khanapur, Dasthurabad, Jannaram, Tembi and Kadam mandals from the Kadam pump house.
What worries the farmers is that there will be no water available for irrigation from the reservoir if the water level reaches the dead storage level from the existing 683 ft. However, some water was being flowing downstream through the gates.
On the other hand, some farmers depend on tubewells and agricultural open wells to save their standing crops.
The Kadam project irrigates the ayacut in the Nirmal and Mancherial districts.
Mesram Bapurao of Venkatapur village in Jannaram mandal said that they might not get irrigation to standing paddy crop for Rabi season since the water level was getting down day by day in the Kadam project. He said irrigation officials should take up repair works to the left canal of the project during the summer so that leakages would be contained and water could reach the tail-end point.
Another farmer Pendore Bharikrao of Narsingapur of Jannaram said it would be helpful to the local farmers if Sri Ram Sagar Project’s canal is connected to the Kadam canal.
Four out of 18 gates were struck and officials are unable to operate them to release the water following the floods in the last week of July of 2023. The district officials shifted the people living in the downstream and low-lying areas to safer places.
The project was constructed to irrigate 66,450 acres under the Left canal and 1,700 acres under the Right canal covering Kadam, Jannaram, Dandepalli, Luxettipalli and Mancherial mandals. But, over the period, its ayacut has come down due to various reasons including leakages and damages to its canals.
