K. Sriramakrishnaiah

Last updated April 13, 2019

Kuditipudi Sriramakrishnaiah (కుడితిపూడి శ్రీరామకృష్ణయ్య) (3 March 1926 in Betapudi, Guntur district – 20 March 2002) was an irrigation engineer who was actively associated in most of the irrigation projects of Andhra Pradesh for 34 years before retirement from the state government service in the year 1983.

Guntur district is an administrative district in the Coastal Andhra region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The administrative seat of the district is located at Guntur, the largest city of the district in terms of area and population. It has a coastline of approximately 100 km and is situated on the right bank of Krishna River, that separates it from Krishna district and extends till it empties into the Bay of Bengal. It is bounded on the south by Prakasam district and on the west by the state of Telangana. It has an area of 11,391 km² (4,398 sq mi) and is the 2nd most populous district in the state, with a population of 4,889,230 as per 2011 census of India.

Irrigation is the application of controlled amounts of water to plants at needed intervals. Irrigation helps to grow agricultural crops, maintain landscapes, and revegetate disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of less than average rainfall. Irrigation also has other uses in crop production, including frost protection, suppressing weed growth in grain fields and preventing soil consolidation. In contrast, agriculture that relies only on direct rainfall is referred to as rain-fed or dry land farming.

Andhra Pradesh is one of the 29 states of India. Situated in the south-east of the country, it is the seventh-largest state in India, covering an area of 162,970 km² (62,920 sq mi). As per the 2011 census, it is the tenth most populous state, with 49,386,799 inhabitants. The largest city in Andhra Pradesh is Visakhapatnam. Telugu, one of the classical languages of India, is the major and official language of Andhra Pradesh.

Services

In recognition of his capabilities, he was later appointed as "Officer on special duty " during the period 1984 to 1990, for executing the Telugu Ganga project. He also served as ‘Adviser on irrigation projects’ to government of Andhra Pradesh (1989), environmental appraisal committee member (1990 – 92) of Government of India, ‘Krishna, Godavari and Penna delta’s drainage board’ chairman (1995 – 97) and state planning commission member (1997 – till his death). During the 1990s, he devoted most of the time in advising his peers and educating the people on the irrigation and drinking water projects. During the 1970s, he actively participated in the activities of Krishna and Godavari river water disputes tribunals representing the state of Andhra Pradesh. He authored many essays in both Telugu and English and the following books in English

The Telugu Ganga project is a water supply scheme implemented by the then Andhra Pradesh chief ministers N.T.Ramarao to provide drinking water to Chennai city in Tamil Nadu. It is also known as the Krishna Water Supply Project, since the source of the water is the Krishna river in Andhra pradesh. Water is drawn from the Srisailam reservoir and diverted towards Chennai through a series of inter-linked canals, over a distance of about 406 kilometres (252 mi), before it reaches the destination at the Poondi reservoir near Chennai. The main checkpoints en route include the Somasila reservoir in Penna River valley, the Kandaleru reservoir, the 'Zero Point' near Uthukkottai where the water enters Tamil Nadu territory and finally, the Poondi reservoir, also known as Satyamurthy Sagar. From Poondi, water is distributed through a system of link-canals to other storage reservoirs located at Red Hills, Sholavaram and Chembarambakkam.

India, also known as the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh largest country by area and with more than 1.3 billion people, it is the second most populous country as well as the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives, while its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.

The Krishna River is the fourth-biggest river in terms of water inflows and river basin area in India, after the Ganga, Godavari and Brahmaputra. The river is almost 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) long. The river is also called Krishnaveni. It is one of the major sources of irrigation for Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

The story of Penna basin
Drought – Rayalaseema
Exploitation of ground water in Rayalaseema
Comprehensive master plan for drainage in coastal belt of Andhra Pradesh,
Utilization of Godavari water by lift
Irrigation in ancient India.

Rayalaseema is a geographic region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It comprises four southern districts of the state namely, Anantapur, Chittoor, Kadapa and Kurnool. As of 2011 census of India, the region with four districts had a population of 15,184,908 and covers an area of 67,526 km² (26,072 sq mi).

Coastal Andhra, is a region in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. This region was part of Madras State before 1953 and Andhra State from 1953 to 1956. According to the 2011 census, it has an area of 95,442 square kilometres (36,850 sq mi) which is 57.99% of the total state area and a population of 34,193,868 which is 69.20% of Andhra Pradesh state population. This area includes the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh on the Coromandel Coast between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal, from the northern border with Odisha to Pulicat lake of South.

The Godavari is India's second longest river after the Ganga. Its source is in Triambakeshwar, Maharashtra. It flows east for 1,465 kilometres (910 mi) draining the states of Maharashtra (48.6%), Telangana (18.8%), Andhra Pradesh (4.5%), Chhattisgarh (10.9%), Madhya Pradesh (10.0%), Odisha (5.7%), and Karnataka (1.4%) emptying into Bay of Bengal through its extensive network of tributaries. Measuring up to 312,812 km² (120,777 sq mi), it forms one of the largest river basins in the Indian subcontinent, with only the Ganges and Indus rivers having a larger drainage basin. In terms of length, catchment area and discharge, the Godavari river is the largest in peninsular India, and had been dubbed as the Vridha Ganga – Ganges.

Recognition

In recognition of his services, he was honored with ‘National hydrology award’ in 1987 by National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee and ‘Honorary Doctorate’ in 1989 by Sri Venkateswara University. After his death, the Penna Ahobilam balancing reservoir was renamed in his honor as ‘Dr. K. Sriramakrishnaiah Penna Ahobilam balancing reservoir’. Statues of him have been placed Anantapur city and on the banks of Brahmamgari Mattham reservoir in Kadapa district.

National Institute of Hydrology (NIH) is an autonomous society under Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India and has been functioning as a research Institute in the area of hydrology and water resources in the country since December 1978 in Roorkee City.

Sri Venkateswara University is a state university in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was founded in 1954 by chief minister Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu. The first vice-chancellor was S Govindarajulu Naidu. The university is named after Lord Venkateswara whose shrine is located in the city.

Penna Ahobilam Balancing Reservoir (PABR) is an irrigation project located across Penna River in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh state in India. Anantapur city gets its drinking water from the PABR. The reservoir with live storage capacity of 305 million cubic metres is mainly fed by Tungabhadra high level canal originating from the Tungabhadra Dam to the extent of 10 Tmcft water. A 20 MW hydro electric power station is also constructed at the dam site.

Memorial Trust

The Dr. K. Sriramakrishnaiah Memorial Service Trust (డా.కె.శ్రీరామకృష్ణయ్య స్మారక సేవా సమితి - DKSSSS) was formed in the year 2002. The DKSSSS conducts educational and awareness enhancement programs every year and publishes many Telugu books on irrigation topics. His birthday (3 March) is celebrated every year as Irrigation Day in Andhra Pradesh.

Related Research Articles

The Penna is a river of southern India. The Penna rises in Nandi Hills in Chikballapur District of Karnataka state, and runs north and east through the states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to empty into the Bay of Bengal. It is 597 kilometres (371 mi) long, with a drainage basin covering 55,213 km²: 6,937 km² in Karnataka and 48,276 km² in Andhra Pradesh. The river basin lies in the rain shadow region of Eastern Ghats and receives 500 mm average rainfall annually.

Godavari River Basin Irrigation Projects

The Godavari River has its catchment area in seven states of India: Maharashtra, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Odisha. The number of dams constructed in Godavari basin is the highest among all the river basins in India. Nearly 350 major and medium dams and barrages had been constructed in the river basin by the year 2012.

Nizam Sagar Dam is an Indian dam. It is a reservoir constructed across the Manjira River, a tributary of the Godavari River, between Achampet and BanjePally villages of the Kamareddy district in Telangana, India. It is located at about 144 km north-west of Hyderabad. Nizam Sagar is the oldest dam in the state of Telangana.

The Kundu River is a tributary of the Penna River in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, India. Originating as a spring near the village of Uppalapadu in Orvakal Mandal of Kurnool District, it goes through many changes before merging with the Penna at Adinimmaya Palli village of Kadapa District. It is known for frequent floods that bring heavy damage to the Nandyal and Koilkuntla areas, and hence it is popularly called the "Sorrow of Nandyal." But nowadays Nandyal town became a big town with huge population so that the drainage water is discharged to the Kundu river with out prior treatment. Industrialists focused their vision at more and more profits and they polluted the river to the maximum extent. The villagers who are living at down flow of the river from Nandyala are suffering with different skin diseases. The pollution impacts even animals health too. In ancient times this river was known as the Kumudvathi. There is a saying in Rayalaseema that whoever drinks the water of the Kundu will gain enormous courage to face enemies. The valley of the Kundu is known as Renadu and is symbolic of the term "Renati Pourusham."

Polavaram Project, is an underconstruction multi-purpose irrigation project on the Godavari River in the West Godavari District and East Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh. The project has been accorded national project status by the Union Government of India and will be the last to be accorded the status. Its reservoir spreads into parts of Chhattisgarh and Odisha States also.. It gives major boost to tourism sector for the state of andhra pradesh as the reservoir covers the famous Papikonda National Park where we can reach from left side navigation channel linked with National Waterway 4.

Pranahita Chevella lift irrigation scheme is a lift irrigation scheme to harness the water of Pranhita tributary of Godavari river for use in the Telangana state of India. The river water diversion barrage across the Pranahita river is located at Thammidihatti village in Kumaram Bheem Asifabad district of Telangana. This lift canal is an inter river basin transfer link by feeding Godavari river water to Krishna river basin. The chief ministers of Telangana and Maharashtra states reached an agreement in 2016 to limit the full reservoir level (FRL) of the barrage at 148 m msl with 1.85 tmcft storage capacity. In the year 2016, this project is divided into two parts. The scheme with diversion canal from the Thammmidihatti barrage to connect to existing Yellampalli reservoir across the Godavari river is presently called Pranahita barrage lift irrigation project. This scheme is confined to providing irrigation facility to nearly 2,00,000 acres in Adilabad district using 44 tmcft water.

The Tungabhadra Dam also known as Pampa Sagar is constructed across the Tungabhadra River, a tributary of the Krishna River. The dam is in Munirabad, Koppal district of Karnataka. It is a multipurpose dam serving irrigation, electricity generation, flood control, etc. This is a joint project of erstwhile Hyderabad state and erstwhile Madras Presidency when the construction was started; later it became a joint project of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh after its completion in 1953. The main architect of the dam was Dr Thirumala Iyengar, an engineer from Madras. There is a dispute between Andhra Pradesh,Telangana and Karnataka for the water of Tungabhadra reservoir. The main contractor for the dam was Venkat Reddy Mulamalla, from Konour village, Mahabubnagar, Hyderabad state.

Handri-Neeva Sujala Sravanthi project is the longest water canal project in Rayalaseema. The project is conceived to provide irrigation facilities and reliable drinking water supply, by drawing flood waters from the Srisailam reservoir. The first phase commences at Malyala, and irrigates six lakh acres in four districts of Rayalaseema, while the second phase is set to provide irrigation facilities for and drinking water to Chittoor district. This canal links the Handri River, Penna River, Chitravathi River, Papagni River, Mandavya River, Bahuda River, Cheyyeru River, Gargeya River, Vedavati River, Palar River and many other rivers in the Rayalaseema region. The canal is spread across Kurnool, Ananthapur, Kadapa and Chittoor districts. The canal feeds several reservoirs and water tanks in the region. In order to achieve full requirements of drinking and irrigation water of the region, more than 50 Tmcft water is required.

Velugodu Reservoir is a balancing reservoir and located across the Galeru river Kundu tributary of Penna river at Velugodu town in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. This reservoir is part of Telugu Ganga project and mainly fed by gravity canal from back waters of Srisailam Dam through Pothireddypadu head / flow regulator located across the feeder canal. Velugodu Reservoir has gross storage capacity of 16.95Tmcft at 265 m MSL full reservoir level.

Kurnool Cuddappah Canal popularly known as K.C. Canal is an irrigation canal located in Kurnool and Cuddapah districts in Andhra Pradesh, India.

Jeedipalli reservoir is an irrigation project located in Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh, India. It receives water from Handri-Neeva canal which draws water from Srisailam reservoir. It is located in Jeedipalli village of Beluguppa mandal.

Government of India (GoI) constituted a common tribunal on 10 April 1969 to adjudicate the river water utilization disputes among the river basin states of Godavari and Krishna rivers under the provisions of Interstate River Water Disputes Act – 1956. The common tribunal was headed by Sri RS Bachawat as its chairman with Sri DM Bhandari and Sri DM Sen as its members. Godavari river basin is spread in the states of Telangana (TS), Maharashtra (MR), Orissa, old Madhya Pradesh {later bifurcated into present Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Chhattisgarh}, Karnataka (K) and Andhra Pradesh (AP). Krishna river basin states Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh insisted on the quicker verdict as it had become more expedient for the construction of irrigation projects in Krishna basin. So the proceedings of Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) could not start till the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal final verdict was submitted to GoI on 27 May 1976.

Nagarjuna Sagar tail pond is a multipurpose reservoir located 21 km downstream from the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam across the Krishna River near Satrasala in Nalgonda district, India. Its gross water storage capacity is 6 Tmcft. The reservoir water spread area extends up to the toe of the Nagarjuna Sagar dam. The project was completed by July 2014.

Ramaraju Vidyasagar Rao was an Indian government administrator and a Telangana activist. He was the Chief Engineer of the Ministry of Water Resources, Central Water Commission. After the formation of Telangana State, he was appointed as the Advisor on Irrigation to the Government of Telangana. He was the foremost expert on irrigation projects in Telangana, and was instrumental in highlighting injustices in water allocation for Telangana Region in United Andhra Pradesh.

Namana Rambabu is an Indian politician from Andhra Pradesh. He is the present Chairman of Irrigation Development Corporation Government of Andhra Pradesh of Telugu Desam Party and TDP District President for East Godavari District. He is 21st ZP Chairman for East Godavari District

Vykuntapuram Barrage is under construction project on the Krishna river 23KM up stream of existing Prakasam Barrage with FRL 25M to store 10 TMC of flood water coming from Vyra, Munneru rivers. The back water of this barrage will extend beyond Pokkunuru up to the toe of Pulichintala dam. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara chandrababu Naidu Laid Foundation stone for this project on 13-02-2019.

References

Jala bharatam (collection of essays) [జలభారతం (వ్యాస సంపుటి)] by DKSSSS President Sri Cherukuri Veeraiah in the year 2009.

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