Discharge from Kandaleru likely to reach Poondi today

PWD officials said that Krishna water reached the zero point at Uthukottai (near the Tamil Nadu border) on Tuesday evening and was expected to flow towards Poondi reservoir on Wednesday evening. Even as the water was on its route to Poondi, there was decline of 50 cubic feet in the flow. 

“There were breaches in the Kandaleru canal a few days ago and AP irrigation department was carrying out renovation works. This could be reason for the marginal decline in the flow from Andhra Pradesh,” explained a PWD official. However, the Andhra Pradesh officials were steadily increasing the discharge in the last few days. “The release was increased to 500 cubic feet on Monday and it went upto 600 on Tuesday and around 700 cubic feet was coming on Wednesday,” said another official who is part of the team monitoring the flow. They also expected that the quantum of release from the Kandaleru reservoir might be increased in the coming days. 

Another senior engineer, Palar Basin Circle, told DTNext that even after Andhra Pradesh irrigation released water on October 10, there was no uniform flow in the canal. “We learnt that water stopped at one point prompting the officials of the neighbouring state to increase the quantum to ensure uniform flow.” 

The engineer added that all issues would be fixed in the next two days and then water would flow without any hitch. Meanwhile, the Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) is eagerly awaiting the arrival of Krishna water. The discharge would be of great help to meet the drinking water needs of Chennai city till the monsoon sets in. 

“We need Krishna water so that we can meet drinking water supply to the city. With that, if the north-east monsoon also sets in in time, the key water bodies that cater to the city’s needs will get adequate storage for next few months,” said a metro water engineer. 

He said that a decision will be taken later on how much quantum of the Krishna water from Poondi reservoir should be diverted to the two lakes of Chembarambakkam and Red Hills.