Crest gates installed on MMD

The long-awaited major irrigation project Mid Manair Dam across the river Manair in Manwada village of Boinpalli mandal is completed with the installation of 25 crest gates.

The MMD, with a capacity to store 25.873 tmc of water, was conceived as part of the SRSP flood flow canal (FFC) to utilize surplus waters from the SRSP in the early 1990s. However, the work on the project began in 2006 under jalayagnam programme by the then Congress government but was delayed due to political reasons and rehabilitation of the project oustees.

The project gained momentum in the separate Telangana state. The State government had decided to convert the MMD into a balancing reservoir for the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project to lift water from the project to other parts of the state, including Siddipet, Medak and Ranga Reddy districts.

During the 10 years of Congress government only 65,200 cubic metres of concrete work was completed out of a total of 4.8 lakh cubic meters. Similarly only 41 lakh cubic metres of earth work of the total 1.28 crore cubic metres was done in last 10 years. The balance work was completed by the TRS government on a war-footing. Though, the project was originally estimated to cost ₹ 639 crore due to delays it escalated to ₹ 2,150 crore.

Though, the MMD can store 25.873 tmc of water, but the irrigation authorities have decided to store only 15 to 18 tmc of water this season depending upon the inflows into the project from the upstream. It may be recalled that the MMD earth dam was breached on September 25, 2016 following the deluge due to incessant rains and floods in the catchment area of Upper Manair Dam. At that point of time the authorities had planned to store 3 tmcs of water in the MMD, however following huge inflows, the earth dam measuring 130-m breached and entire water flowed into the Lower Manair Dam in Karimnagar town.

The water from the MMD would flow through gravity to Gouravelli reservoir and provide irrigation to upland Manakondur and Husnabad assembly segments. Besides, the water would be lifted from the project through tunnels and surge-pool from Thippapur village of Illanthakunta mandal to Ananthasagar project in Siddipet and also to Mallannasagar project.