Farmers cheer as water flows in canals

MALKANGIRI: Bringing cheer to farmers across the district, authorities of Potteru Irrigation Project have finally released water to both Gompakonda and Tamasa Main Canals (TMC).The move comes in the wake of Collector Manish Agarwal’s directive to the project authorities to suspend the ongoing canal lining work and release water keeping in view the farmers’ demand to protect their standing rabi crops. To avert any water crisis during summer months, the Collector had ordered suspension of canal lining work from April 1 to 12 in the first phase and May 1 to 10 in the second phase this year.

Meanwhile, lining work on Gompakonda Main Canal has been expedited to ensure its timely completion. Of the 17 km-long canal, bed construction work up to 15 km has been completed and slope work up to 6.8 km is over, informed Executive Engineer of Potteru Irrigation Project Bijaya Kumar Samal. “Though the Water Resources department has set February 2019 deadline for the completion of the lining work, we hope to complete it by June this year,” he said.

Similarly, lining work on 20 km of the 60-km long Tamasa Main Canal and slope work up to 3.5 km have been completed. The lining work of TMC would also be over by June this year, said MV-79-based Executive Engineer Chandra Sekhar Mishra.Lining work on both Gompakonda and Tamasa Main Canals, which is estimated to be around `100 crore, has been undertaken for the first time since the water bodies were created 35 years back.

Chief Construction Engineer of Potteru Irrigation Project Bibhuti Bhusan Mishra said once the lining work of both the canals is completed, about 30 per cent seepage of water will be checked. It would also stop leakages and breach in the canals, he said and added that after the lining work is over, water will reach up to the tail ends of both the canals, thereby covering all 61,000 hectares of ayacut areas.