Minister for Water Resources Ambati Rambabu, along with Ministers Jogi Ramesh and Merugu Nagarjuna, released water to the Krishna eastern and western deltas, at the Krishna Eastern Main Canal, near Prakasam Barrage, here on Friday.
About 1,500 cusecs of water will be released to the Krishna Eastern Delta and 500 cusecs to the Krishna Western Delta through the respective main canals.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Rambabu said, for the first time the State government had released water for irrigation purposes one month in advance.
“There is plenty of water available in the reservoirs across the Krishna,” Mr. Rambabu said.
The early release of water for the kharif season was a great advantage to the farmers of the delta. Water would be available even for the tail-end areas of the delta, he added. Farmers would be able to cultivate a third crop, Mr. Rambabu said.
Early cultivation would also help the farmers escape the vagaries of natures such as cyclones that would normally hit the region during November-December, he said.
He said all the seeds and pesticides were made available at the Rythu Bharosa Kendras in the region.
Rythu Sadhikara Samstha chairman M.V.S. Nagireddy; Government Whip Samineni Udayabhanu; MLAs Malladi Vishnu and Simhadri Ramesh; NTR District Collector S. Dilli Rao; Water Resources Principal Secretary Sasibhushan Kumar; and Engineer-in-Chief Tirumala Rao were present.