Penna river system strengthened with two new barrages

The two-way road on the barrage will facilitate smooth flow of traffic between Sangam and Podalakuru mandals.The two flood banks on either side of the river, running to a length of about seven km, have also been strengthened as part of the project, according to the state Water Resources Department officials.Two regulators have been built on the Kanigiri-Kavali and Kanupuru canals to ensure effective water supply to the ayacut.The Nellore Barrage in the city is built with 43 spillway gates and eight scour vents.

The Penna river canal system has got a fresh life with the completion of Nellore and the Sangam barrages, turning the decades-old dream of the people of Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh into a reality.

The two new barrages across river Penna, built at an overall cost of Rs 326 crore, will not only stabilise an ayacut of about 4.85 lakh acres but also rid the people of several mandals and Nellore city of the sorrow of the river floods.

The then British rulers built an anicut each at Nellore and Sangam in the 1880s to fulfil the irrigation needs as well as drinking water supply to several mandals in SPS Nellore district, besides Nellore town.

But the two structures outlived their utility, leaving the people longing for new barrages along with carriageways.

The then Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy launched the two new barrage works in 2008 but they progressed at a slow pace for a variety of reasons.

The current government headed by his son, Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, finally completed the projects, fulfilling the long-cherished dream of SPS Nellore people.

The Sangam Barrage has now been named after former minister Mekapati Goutam Reddy, who died of heart attack in February this year.

Sangam Barrage has an ayacut of 3.85 lakh acres under it, including 2.47 lakh acres under the Penna Delta.

The 1,195-metre Sangam Barrage has 79 crest gates and six scour sluice vents. The two-way road on the barrage will facilitate smooth flow of traffic between Sangam and Podalakuru mandals.

The two flood banks on either side of the river, running to a length of about seven km, have also been strengthened as part of the project, according to the state Water Resources Department officials.

Two regulators have been built on the Kanigiri-Kavali and Kanupuru canals to ensure effective water supply to the ayacut.

The Nellore Barrage in the city is built with 43 spillway gates and eight scour vents. It has the capacity to impound 0.45 thousand million cubic feet of water.

The barrage has a 7.5-m carriageway for traffic flow.

The Nellore Barrage has about 99,000 acres under its command while it is also the source of drinking water for citizens of Nellore city and 77 surrounding villages.

The Chief Minister will inaugurate the two projects on Tuesday.