A Study on Cost-Effective Measures to Improve Water Distribution for Irrigation Purposes

Kala Naga Mahesh *, Srinivas Manchikanti**
*-** Department of Civil Engineering, Gayatri Vidya Parishad College of Engineering (Autonomous), Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Periodicity:June - August'2019
DOI : https://doi.org/10.26634/jce.9.3.14730

Abstract

In present days, the cultivation of land at the tail end has reduced, reasons being - insufficient irrigation water and inefficient distribution of canal water to the tail ends. As a result, farmers of Peddapatnam village are unable to carry out cultivation satisfactorily. This study is carried out to address this problem and to provide remedies. Peddapatnam canal is selected as the study area in the present paper. This canal (16°21'35.89"N, 81°15'42.82"E - 16°19'24.92"N, 81°19'46.10"E) is a branch canal of Bantumilli main canal (16°20'37.00"N, 81°3'28.61"E - 16°23'52.02"N, 81°26'13.82"E), located in Krishna district of the Andhra Pradesh State. The water from the canal is the only source for cultivation and groundwater is unsuitable as it contains a large amount of salts. Firstly, the current flows of the Bantumilli canal are found and the total cultivable land in the purview of the canal is determined. Later, a topographic survey is conducted and the longitudinal profile of the canal is drawn. Farmers and irrigation experts (who are familiar with the study area) were interviewed to know the causes and find possible remedies for the problems encountered. The problems identified are, viz., (i) Low maintenance of the canal (ii) Canal being unlined (iii) Absence of protection of side banks (iv) Damage caused by animal movements (v) Siltation (vi) Non-cooperation of some influential farmers. Seepage and evapo-transpiration have also greatly affected the efficiency of canal distribution. Based on the above observations, two recommendations are proposed, viz., (i) Construction of a retaining wall or (ii) Construction of a canal lining. Additionally, it is recommended to install solar panels along the canal to address the power shortage problem of that area. An income of 30 million Indian rupees is realized due to the installation of a canal-top solar plant, for the cash-strapped region under study.

Keywords

Canal Lining, Cost Estimation, Retaining Wall, Canal-top Solar Plant

How to Cite this Article?

Mahesh, K. N., & Manchikanti, S. (2019). A Study on Cost-Effective Measures to Improve Water Distribution for Irrigation Purposes. i-manager's Journal on Civil Engineering, 9(3), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.26634/jce.9.3.14730

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