Godavari water to be released for kharif in delta region from June 1

DOWLESWARAM

The Andhra Pradesh State Water Resource Department is scheduled to release water from the River Godavari on Saturday, June 1, to support kharif operations across the Godavari Delta. 

In the Godavari region, the Eastern, Central, and Western Deltas are spread across five districts: Kakinada and East Godavari in the Eastern Delta, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema and Eluru districts in the Central Delta, and West Godavari in the Western Delta. 

“We will release the Godavari water into the entire Delta at Sir Arthur Cotton barrage at Dowleswaram. Paddy is the prime crop that is required for the irrigation facility in June. The total inflow is around 8,000 cusecs at Dowleswaram, and the entire inflow will be directly released into the Delta,” Godavari Delta System Chief Engineer R. Sateesh Kumar told The Hindu. 

As of May 31, at least 3,500 cusecs of water were being received from River Sileru which confluences into the River Sabari on the Andhra-Odisha borders. 

“By June 15, we may require 11,000 cusecs of water for the timely commencement of kharif operations in the Godavari Delta. Given the schedule of the onset of the monsoon, the Delta will get the irrigation water on time to speed up the activities associated with paddy cultivation,” said Mr. Sateesh Kumar. At present, over 3 TMC of water is available. In kharif, most of the paddy farmers go for direct sowing in the Godavari region.