Tirumala water reserves to last till March-April, says TTD Chairman

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TTD Chairman B.R. Naidu, along with senior officials, inspecting the water reserves in Papavinasanam dam on Thursday. | Photo Credit: Arrangement

Amid growing concerns of impending water scarcity, TTD Chairman B.R. Naidu on Thursday inspected the reservoirs feeding the Tirumala shrine and reviewed the availability of water and contingency plans to meet future demand. The inspection comes against the backdrop of uncertain rainfall and limited storage levels that are sufficient to meet the needs of the town for the next 150 days.

Accompanied by Additional Executive Officer Ch. Venkaiah Chowdary, board members and engineering officials, Mr. Naidu assessed the water reserves and directed officials to work out alternatives should rainfall fail to replenish the reservoirs. The TTD will take up the issue with the state government after examining the report submitted by the officials, he said.

Mr. Naidu said that the existing reserves would last through March and April, and that he had recently discussed the issue with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who expressed confidence that the forthcoming monsoons would improve the storage position and avert a shortage. As an immediate alternative, the TTD is also toying with the idea of drawing more waters from Kalyani Dam in Tirupati.

The scale of the challenge is considerable. Tirumala consumes around 50 lakh gallons of water every day, with the TTD’s own reservoirs meeting about half the requirement and Kalyani Dam supplying the rest, Mr. Venkaiah Chowdary said. The reservoirs generally receive inflows during November and December, and a full replenishment would enable the TTD to meet the town’s needs for 18 months.

Alongside efforts to augment supply, conservation measures like arresting the water wastage, creating awareness among pilgrims, plugging leakages in cottages and other accommodation facilities and installation of automated gate systems are already being worked out.

TTD is also planning reservoir desilting, the construction of check dams and further measures to improve water conservation and dam safety.

For a hill shrine that receives a constant inflow of pilgrims, ensuring water security remains central to maintaining essential services. The TTD said that it was working on both immediate contingency measures and longer-term solutions to protect the temple against possible supply constraints.

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