Nizamabad: The gates of the Babli project near Dharmabad in Maharashtra’s Nanded district were lifted on Tuesday, releasing water into the Godavari River. The release was conducted in the presence of irrigation officials from Telangana and Maharashtra, as well as representatives of the Central Water Commission (CWC).Per the Supreme Court’s directive, the Maharashtra government opens the Babli gates each year on July 1 and keeps them open until October 28 to ensure continued flow in the Godavari between Maharashtra and Telangana. The released water is expected to reach the Sriram Sagar Project (SRSP) within 24 hours. Authorities have alerted residents along the riverbanks in Nizamabad and Nirmal districts. The temple town of Basar, located between the Babli barrage and SRSP, also lies along this stretch. During the recent summer months, the Godavari’s flow had diminished significantly. With the gates lifted, the increased flow will meet the drinking water needs of both people and livestock in Nizamabad and Nirmal. Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, SRSP superintending engineer T. Srinivas Rao Gupta said that 0.35 TMC ft of water was released from the Babli project and added that the Godavari’s flow would rise further as a result. Present for the gate-lifting ceremony were T. Srinivas Rao Gupta, superintending engineer, SRSP, M. L. Franklin, executive engineer, CWC Upper Godavari Division, C.R. Bansod, executive engineer, Nanded irrigation division, M. Chakrapani, executive engineer, SRSP and Ravi Kottha, assistant executive engineer, SRSP.
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