Kurnool, Dec.01 – Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy dedicated Tunnel 2 of the Owk project to the people by unveiling its pylon and releasing 20,000 cusecs of water from the Gorakallu reservoir to the Owk reservoir amid a recital of hymns by Vedic pandits here on Thursday at Mettupalli village in the combined Kurnool district.
The government has so far spent Rs 1501.94 crore on the Owk Tunnels, with Rs 567.94 crore being incurred on Tunnels 1 and 2.
Out of the 5.801 km length of Tunnel 3, an extent of 4.526 km was completed at a cost of Rs 934 crore, and the works relating to the rest of 1.275 km are in full swing. The total cost of Tunnel 3 is estimated to be Rs 1297.78 crore.
Due to the sustained efforts of the Chief Minister, the government paid a compensation of Rs 1000 crore to the displaced persons of Gandikota reservoir, in which 26.85 TMC of water could be stored in successive years from 2019.
The displaced persons at Chitravati reservoir were paid compensation of Rs 250 crore, after which officials succeeded in storing water to its capacity level.
The Irrigation Department could also maintain capacity water levels in the Veligonda reservoir in 2019 after the government spent Rs 500 crore and completed the lining works of the link canal and Telugu Ganga canal.
With the release of water to Owk reservoir, an integral part of the Galeru-Nagari Sujala Sravanthi (GNSS) project, the government has fulfilled the long-cherished aspirations of the Rayalaseema people. While Tunnels 1 and 2 facilitate the daily release of 20,000 cusecs of water into the Owk reservoir during flood season, the completion of Tunnel 3 will facilitate the release of another 10,000 cusecs daily.
With the completion of the tunnels, the Gandikota, Vamikonda, Sarvaraya Sagar, Mylavaram, and Paidipalem reservoirs will receive an additional 1TMC of water daily for irrigating 2.60 lakh acres in the undivided Kadapa, Chittoor, and Nellore districts, besides stabilizing 1.31 lakh acres of Ayacut and providing drinking water to 20 lakh people in 640 villages.
While it will help fill the Gandikota reservoir in 15 days through the Galeru-Nagari flood canal, Rayalaseema will receive 2 TMC of water daily in flood season.
