About 20,000 village tanks in the state are interlinked Telangana government to save every drop of water. This is the concept of a chain of tanks constructed by the then Kakatiya rulers in ancient times. As the village tanks and reservoirs were neglected in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, the BRS government in separate Telangana has embarked on reviving them under the Mission Kakatiya.
As many as 27,625 tanks were revived. Now it was decided to interlink one another. Already 10,000 tanks are being filled with river water under various irrigation projects. This resulted in an increase in groundwater and improved fisheries and dairy sectors that boosted the rural economy across the state.
The prestigious Kaleswaram project is crucial in this concept. As part of it, the SRSP, Yellampalli, Nizamsagar, Singur, Upper Manair, Lower Manair, Kadem and Flood Flow Canal were linked to it. The Sitarama and Bhaktha Ramadasu projects in Khammam district and Kalwakurthy, Nettempadu, Koilsagar, Bheema and Madhava Reddy projects in Mahabubnagar districts were completed.
Through these projects, the village tanks are being filled throughout the year. This resulted in an increased area of cultivation. The Telangana state has 25,92,437 lakh acres under 46,571 tanks. However, due to negligence by the then rulers, hardly five to six lakh acres got irrigation water.
After the launch of Mission Kakatiya in 2015, a total of 27,625 tanks were revived thus stabilising an ayacut of 20.78 lakh acres. By revival of the tanks, the water holding capacity of tanks increased by 8.50 TMC and stable ayacut of 15.05 lakh acres. This year nearly 18 lakh acres are being cultivated under these tanks.
By Gollapudi Srinivasa Rao