A view of the breached portion of Nagarjunasagar Left Canal near Kagitha Ramachandrapuram village in Suryapet district.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
HYDERABAD
Minister for Irrigation and Civil Supplies N. Uttam Kumar Reddy has instructed the irrigation authorities to take the breach-filling work of the Nagajunasagar Left Canal (Lal Bahadur Canal) on a war footing. It was breached on Sunday (September 1) morning near Kagitha Ramachandrapuram village of Nadigudem mandal in Suryapet district.
The Minister representing Huzurnagar constituency, along with Kodad MLA and his wife N. Padmavathi Reddy along with Chief Engineer Ramesh Babu and Superintending Engineer Sai Dharmateja, visited the site of the breach on Monday (September 2, 2024). After the canal was breached, Nagarjunasagar project engineers closed the head regulator of the Left Canal by 9 a.m. to stop wastage of water.
The local authorities have primarily estimated that the standing crop, mostly paddy, was damaged on about 300 acres due to flooding of water from the breached Left Canal. The Minister stated that further damage/loss was prevented as the canal head was closed early and the water flow stopped before entering the village.
He stated that standing crops on a large extent was inundated in Huzurnagar and Kodad constituencies as the rainfall recorded during the last couple of days was highest over the last five decades. The authorities would take up detailed assessment of crop loss in a couple of days so that the farmers who suffered it could be helped.
Speaking to newspersons later, he stated that a large number of minor irrigation tanks and ponds were damaged in the heavy to very heavy rains over the last couple of days. The rain loss would be discussed in the Cabinet meeting soon to announce compensation.
Minister for Irrigation N. Uttam Kumar Reddy walking on NS Left Canal bund near Kagitha Ramachandrapuram village of Nadigudem mandal in Suryapet district on Monday.
| Photo Credit:
By Arrangement
Later, he also visited the Ramapuram bridge on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada national highway that was washed away on Saturday night, disconnecting the main road connectivity between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. He instructed the national highways authorities to restore the washed-away road link.
Suryapet District Collector Tajas Nandlal Pawar, Superintendent of Police Sunpreeet Singh and other officials accompanied the minister during his visit to the affected area.
