History of Pulichinthala

Pulichinthala  project on the river krishna, estimated to cost rs 180 crore in 1988, impounds about 46 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) of water and directly benefits about 12 lakh acres of land in guntur and krishna districts resulting in an additional yield of 3 quintals of paddy per acre per year. the additional benefit was estimated at rs 120 crore per year in 1988. the project generates 60 megawatts (mw) of electricity which will benefit nalgonda and guntur districts. the dam, 1,290 metres long and 42 metres high, is proposed to be built across the river krishna at pulichintala village in guntur district and nemalipuri village on other side of the river in nalgonda district. the project is 120 km downstream project and above the prakasam barrage which goes waste into bay of bengal in august, september and october months in every year. the pulichintala project, which is a balancing reservoir with a capacity of 46 tmcft, does not have its own ayacut, but strengthens the ayacut under the prakasam barrage. the project does not have distributary canals. if pulichintala project becomes a reality, the ayacut under prakasam barrage need not depend on release of water from nagarjuna sagar during nursery and transplantation of paddy periods. thanks to the lower levels of water in nagarjuna sagar in august and september this year coupled with inadequate water in the prakasam barrage reservoir, transplantation of paddy in guntur and krishna district was delayed and the area under the paddy shrank. the pulichintala project will augment water in the prakasam barrage reservoir. the surplus water impounded in the pulichintala reservoir will be released to the prakasam barrage reservoir. with rapid development of 22 lakh acre command area under the nagarjuna sagar project and construction of dams in the upper reaches of krishna river in karnataka and maharashtra, inflows into the prakasam barrage have been dwindling, dislocating the agricultural operations in the krishna delta. incidentally, the proposed project will reduce the road length between chennai and hyderabad by about 40 km and improves water table in parts of guntur and nalgonda districts adjoining the reservoir. on the debit side, it submerges villages in guntur district and 10 nalgonda district affecting 5,248 families. the villages which are likely to be affected include pulichintala, kolluru, chityala,bodanam, govindapuram, rajulagadda and bhimavaram in guntur district and nemalipuri, vellaturu, tammavaram, krishnapuram and mattapalli in nalgonda district. pedakurapadu mla k lakshmi narayana has refuted the charge that he is opposed to the project which is in his constituency. "i only insist that the displaced persons should be rehabilitated before the work on the project begins," he told the times of india. they cannot be driven from pillar to post for relief, he added. the project has engendered opposition from telangana, especially nalgonda. the then chief minister n t rama rao laid the foundation stone to the project on november 19, 1988 when the residents of the villages which will be submerged greeted him with black flags and noisy demonstrations. later the construction engineering division, sattenapalli was closed and work stopped in 1990. in 1905, before the construction of the nagarjuna sagar, construction of a dam at daida village, about 30 km from pulichintala upstream, was mooted. later in 1911, british engineer col ellis suggested the location of the dam at pulichintala. the khosla committee recommended the project.the then madras government re-surveyed the project in 1952. of nagarjuna sagar project and 85 km from the prakasam barrage in vijayawada.the dam seeks to impound 46 tmcft of the 53 tmcft of water from the catchment area below nagarjuna sagar.