TB reservoir
The association said Tungabhadra reservoir had 66.5 tmcft of water as of Oct 6. Of this, 10 tmcft is reserved for drinking water. After accounting for about 6 tmcft towards evaporation and other losses and excluding 2 tmcft of dead storage, around 48 tmcft would be available for agriculture. Purushothamagouda said releasing 9,500 cusecs per day for 56 days would require about 5.3 lakh cusec-days, equivalent to nearly 46 tmcft. Farmers, however, are concerned over reports that only 1 tmcft may be released to the HLC in Dec.
The available storage was therefore sufficient to protect standing crops, he said.
The Tungabhadra Farmers’ Association said standing crops require uninterrupted irrigation until harvest and any disruption at this stage could result in heavy losses. They said commercial and food crops, including chilli, need regular irrigation until harvest. Raichur Rural MLA Basanagouda Daddal said farmers had already invested thousands of rupees in seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and labour. Stopping water midway could damage crops and push cultivators into financial distress, he said.
A delegation led by association district president Purushothamagouda submitted a memorandum to Ballari Rural MLA B Nagendra on Sunday, urging him to prevail upon the govt and irrigation authorities to ensure sufficient canal water.