Godavari Waters Surge Through Polavaram Left Main Canal Toward Visakhapatnam

Heavy discharges from the Godavari River are racing through the 182-kilometre Polavaram Left Main Canal toward Visakhapatnam, marking a major milestone in water diversion to North Coastal Andhra Pradesh. The water release, initiated with a planned discharge of approximately 3,500 cusecs, is pushing fast-flowing currents through aqueducts and open reaches across Payakaraopeta and Yelamanchili in Anakapalli district.

The diversion uses completed reaches of the canal and high-capacity pumping infrastructure to draw surplus seasonal river water before it empties into the Bay of Bengal. State irrigation authorities are managing the flow to move approximately 27 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of water into the Visakhapatnam industrial and urban basin. This system will channel water into key regional holding points, including the five-TMC Kanithi Balancing Reservoir at the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, alongside natural storage reservoirs such as Meghadrigedda, Penjeruvu, and Kondakarla Ava.

The incoming surge is designed to permanently address acute water shortages across North Andhra’s core economic corridor. Beyond supplying drinking water to over nine lakh urban residents and stabilizing raw water supplies for major manufacturing clusters, the canal flow is mapped to irrigate roughly 2.87 lakh acres of farmland in the ayacut.
Engineers and emergency field teams remain deployed along embankments and canal structures to monitor hydraulic pressure, clear bottlenecks, and ensure smooth delivery as the heavy volume continues advancing toward the city's terminal reservoirs.