Why fall behind? Telangana too adopts KT Weir system to improve water harvesting

HYDERABAD: Early last year, the Telangana government sent a team of 10 officials from irrigation, panchayat raj and roads & buildings departments to Maharashtra to study the functioning of KT Weirs.
Upon their return, the team recommended that Telangana too adopt the bridge-cum-barrages to improve water harvesting at smaller water bodies. Subsequently , a policy decision was taken that any bridge constructed by the R&B department will incorporate KT Weirs.“We will do this in our command area (cultivable land, barren land, forests, wasteland, roads etc. that can potentially be served by an irrigation project),“ an official said.
In early this year, the foundation stone for the first such structure was laid across Siddipet Vagu in Nanganur mandal.The Rs 1.13 crore bridge-cum-KT Weir is expected to store enough water to irrigate 325 acres.
Small structures such as this are also expected to contribute towards recharging of the groundwater table. Whenever the water gets filled, it will be diverted to minor irrigation tanks nearby . In Karnataka, which has adopted this system extensively , thousands of farm ponds have been dug where water from KT Weirs is diverted before finally allowing it to flow downstream into the river, the official said.