The Irrigation Department has decided to release 1.5 TMC of water to the Paleru balancing reservoir through the Nagarjunasagar Left Canal to prioritise drinking water needs in Khammam district. Over 1,000 cusecs of water was released by opening the NSP left canal regulator on Friday. The Department has planned to gradually increase the flow to 4,000 cusecs.
Parts of Mahabubabad district will also benefit from this release, though the water is strictly for
drinking purposes and not for irrigation, clarified officials.
The drawls are part of release orders issued by the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB). NSP officials stated that the irrigation schedule for NSP Zone I, Zone II, and Zone III will be finalised soon in a high-level meeting with elected representatives and ministers from the districts concerned. The NSP left canal serves an ayacut of 6.3 lakh acres.