Release of water from Narayanpur dam in Karnataka to Jurala reservoir in Jogulamba-Gadwal district for meeting the drinking water needs of undivided Mahabubnagar district did not commence till Saturday evening and it is expected to begin either on Saturday night or Sunday morning.
Following the decision of Karnataka government to release 2.5 tmc ft water to Telangana on Friday after a request was made by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to his counterpart H.D. Kumaraswamy, the engineers of Narayapur informed the authorities of Priyadarshini Jurala Project near Gadwal that they would begin releasing water after taking necessary precautions like informing revenue officials and others.
Once released, it would take at least five days for the water from Narayanpur dam (Basava Sagara) near Siddapur in Yadgir district to reach Jurala reservoir as most parts of the river bed for about 180 km distance is either dry or some stretches are water logged having some depth. It is not clear yet as to what would be the amount of water flow released from Narayanpur.
Transmission losses
When contacted, officials of the Irrigation Department explained that transmission losses including seepage and tapping would be high if the quantum of flow is low and vice versa. They stated that it would nearly take 12 days to release 2.5 tmc ft water at the rate of 2,500 cusecs and nearly nine-and-half days if the discharge is 3,000 cusecs.
The quantity of water to be realised at Jurala would depend on the factors including the quantum of discharge, seepage, evaporation and tapping.