GUNTUR: The State government has sought funds from National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to modernise and extend the Guntur Channel, a 47 km irrigation and drinking water lifeline for the Guntur district.
The channel, originating from the Krishna River near the Prakasam Barrage, supplies 3.2 TMC of irrigation water and 1.42 TMC of drinking water to five mandals, including Guntur and Mangalagiri. The proposed extension will stretch the channel to 74.065 km, benefiting 48,000 acres of farmland and 33 villages, at an estimated cost of Rs 625 crore.
Delays in surveys and permissions have stalled the project, which was initially allotted Rs 274 crore during the TDP government (2014–19). Recent floods damaging embankments and inundating crops reignited the urgency for modernisation.
