PWD deploys patrol team to save canal water from being pilfered

Under the agreement over Telugu Ganga Project between Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, the city receives 8 thousand million cubic feet (tmc) of water from July to October every year. This is to be used only for drinking purposes. According to PWD officials, farmers tilling agricultural fields in the vicinity of the canal often attempt to pump this water from the canal for irrigating their fields. 

After continuous monitoring, the team of irrigation assistants from the Water Resources Organisation under the PWD seized 53 motors. “Early this year, the engineers from the Krishna Water Supply Division, along with the tahsildar and policemen, seized motor pumps that were illegally installed near the canal. The farmers of nearby fields mount the pumps to draw water from it. Many of them hide the pumps inside overgrown bushes to avoid the authorities’ attention. This has been going on for several years,” a PWD official said.

The seized motors will be given back to the farmers in the first week of November, after the season is over, said officials, adding that measures were taken to prevent such activities. “We have issued a stringent warning well in advance this time. For this purpose, around 20 assistant engineers were engaged in a patrolling round-the-clock. In case of emergency, they will take the assistance of policemen,” a top official noted. 

However, majority of farmers growing vegetables here have complained that the groundwater table has dipped alarmingly, alleging that the canal has led to the gradual reduction in the quantum of water available for irrigation. 

Meanwhile, the Poondi reservoir received the copious inflow of Krishna water, which increased water level from 20 million cubic feet (mcft) in the last week to 198 mcft on Wednesday. On an average, 675 million litres of Krishna water is supplied per day. The present storage level of the reservoir is 220 mcft, which is estimated to meet Chennai’s drinking water requirement for 17 days.