Vattivagu project to be shelved

Vattivagu project 

Komuram Bheem project right canal works in progress

The Vattivagu medium irrigation project located near Pahadibanda in Asifabad mandal will soon disappear and a new opencast mine or exertion of Dorli opencast mine will come up in the backwater of the project.

With the Komuram Bheem project becoming operational, Vattivagu project will be shelved forever without making repairs and laying new canals in place of damaged one.

Actually the Komuram Bheem project was planned to irrigate only 20,000 acres under left canal against the proposed 39,000 acres and the right canal was proposed to irrigate 6,000 acre in Asifabad mandal. 

The canal works of right canal works of Komuram Bheem are in progress as part of Mission Bhagiratha.

The Singareni may start its coal excavation activities in dried up Vattivagu project where it found huge coal deposits and the place is just attached to exiting Dorli opencast mine.

The Vattivagu project will be linked to right canal of Komuram Bheem project. The soil excavated from the Dorli opencast project is dumping close to the Vattivagu project and the soil is flowing into reservoir every rainy season and huge siltation deposited in the project waters sinking the storage capacity of the project.

The local Adivasis and fishing community people alleged that Singareni has been deliberately dumping ash heaps to make the project irrelevant and sink its storage capacity so that they will start opencast mining in the backwaters of project in near future.

Former Asifabad MLA Atram Sakku said that the left and right canals of Vattivagu project were fully damaged and water will not flow downstream only for one km through canals and  funds have not been sanctioned for the project repairs and canals.

It is said that the right canal of the Vattivagu project may be linked with the right canal of the Komuram Bheem project. 

Actually the Vattivagu project was envisaged to irrigate 24,500 acres covering 30 villages in Asifabad and Rebbena mandals.

The project was breached few times due to heavy rains and temporary repairs were done to strengthen the bund close to the crest gates in the past.  The vattivagu project was constructed on Vattivagu stream which was tributary to the river Godavari.