08-07-2025
Record inflows into Jurala, Srisailam in May-June help 231 MU hydel generation
Despite the two major gateway projects of the Krishna Basin — Jurala and Srisailam — for the two Telugu-speaking States getting highest inflows during May-June, the last and first months of the previous and current water years, the progress of kharif cultivation has been comparably lower with the uneven spread of monsoon rainfall in Telangana.
Till June-end, the first month of kharif season/agriculture year, about 56% (347) of the 621 mandals in the State have recorded either deficient (257) or large deficient rainfall, while only 44% (274) mandals have received normal and above rainfall. As a result, the cultivation of crops this season has been taken up in an extent of 43.48 lakh acres against 46.95 lakh acres by the same time last year.
As usual, the cultivation of kharif crops is driven by cotton with the fibre crop already sown in 30.69 lakh acres followed by redgram in 2.7 lakh acres, soybean in 2.64 lakh acres, maize in 2.48 lakh acres, paddy transplanted in 21.14 lakh acres and greengram and jowar in 0.49 lakh acres, together. As on June 4, the mandals recording deficient and large deficient is significantly high at 218.
Power generation
However, the inflows received by Jurala and Srisailam projects have helped the Telangana State Power Generation Corporation (TG-Genco) generate the highest hydel energy in the recent years to ease the power utilities' (Discoms) burden of power purchases. Early flood received by the two projects has enabled the generation utility to go for nearly 200 million units of hydel energy in June and another 34 million units in May.
Though, the TG-Genco went for another 101 million units energy generation during May-June at Nagarjunasagar, mostly with the water available in the reservoir with the reservoir getting 12.78 tmc ft water in May and 17.37 tmc ft in June, mostly with the water released at Srisailam after power generation and to extent with the help of rain in the catchment area downstream of Srisailam.
On the other hand, Srisailam project is expected to become surplus over the next 8-10 days with the flood in the range of about 1.25 lakh cusecs reaching it from Jurala from the spillway discharge and with power generation since June 25 and in the measure up to 85,000 cusecs from June 8 to 25. Release of water from Jurala to Srisailam after power generation was also done for another 10 days in May. Discharge of flood from the spillway of Tungabhadra dam in Karnataka also commenced on Thursday (July 3).
