Even in a year when the Nagarjunasagar Project (NSP) reservoir, which replenishes drinking water supply to Ongole, attained full capacity, water woes for the city have not ended.
The two summer storage tanks that supply water to the civic body need to be replenished twice every year. Even when the position is comfortable in the two tanks, water is only supplied once in three days. In worst situations, when the storage in the tanks plummets to low levels, water is supplied only once in five days. It takes about 45 days for the SS tanks to get filled in view of limited 100 cusecs capacity of canal bringing Krishna water.
To ensure a 24x7 supply to the denizens, the solution lies in deepening of the Valluru Cheruvu and Pelluru Cheruvu and filling them with Krishna waters, said Ongole Town Development Committee president Marella Subba Rao, adding that it would also augment water supply to hundreds of villages now depended upon the two water bodies.
Former A.P. Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had allotted ₹8 crore for deepening of the tanks in an extent of 900 acres. But the files relating to the project is now gathering dust after change in governments.
The present Jagan Mohan Reddy government should take up on top priority basis the project with a view also to unleash the tourism potential, on the lines of Swarnala Cheruvu in Nellore that had been developed taking into view the gathering of pilgrims during ‘Rotela Panduga’, said Ongole Citizens Association member K. Madhu.
Tourism potential
If the water bodies are developed, tourism potential of a string of beaches in the district, including Kothapatnam, Ramayapatnam, Pakala, Ethamukala and Karedu, could be also developed by constructing a tourist resort close to the Valluramma temple on the city outskirts and organising tourism package tours covering nearby places like Jambulapalem with 1,008 Sivalingas and Singarayakonda, they explained.
Meanwhile, the two summer storage tanks are getting fast filled up with Krishna water released from NSP to Ramatheertham balancing reservoir. The two summer storage tanks had a combined storage of 4,526.45 million litres as against the full capacity of 5,800 ml, OMC Municipal Engineer D. Sundarami Reddy said.
Storage in S.S TANK-1 has reached 1893.20 ml now as against the full level of 1950 ML and to 2633.25 ML in SS Tank-2 as against the full level of 3850 ML, the official added.
