The Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir will open its gates today at 10 AM due to heavy rains causing a significant inflow of water. Local authorities have decided to take immediate action to manage the water levels. Collector C. Narayana Reddy Sagar will supervise the opening of the gates for critical water management.
Currently, the reservoir is receiving an inflow of 279,000 cusecs of water, while the outflow stands at 30,000 cusecs. The water level is at 580 feet, close to the full level of 590 feet. The reservoir’s total storage capacity is 312.50 TMCs, with the present storage at 280 TMCs.
Chief Engineer Nageswara Rao from Nalgonda district announced that six gates of the Nagarjuna Sagar project will be opened at 2 PM to release about 200,000 cusecs of water downstream. This amount might increase depending on the ongoing inflow.
Due to the flood threat, district authorities have warned residents in the Krishna lowland catchment area. Collector Arun Babu and SP Srinivasa Rao have instructed revenue and police officials to be ready to help evacuate residents to safer places if water levels keep rising.
Meanwhile, the Godavari River at the Polavaram project in Eluru district has seen a slight decrease in water levels over the past three days. However, constant rains in the upper regions are expected to raise water levels again as tributaries and hill streams add to the flow. The river reached a height of 36.70 feet at Bhadrachalam, with 698,968 cusecs of water being released downstream from the Polavaram project spillway. Currently, water levels are recorded at 31.180 meters at the top of the spillway and 22.37 meters at the bottom.
Authorities are closely monitoring the situation as more rain is forecasted, urging residents in affected areas to stay alert.
