The Janai-Shirsai lift irrigation schemes have begun releasing water for the rabi season to drought-affected agricultural areas in Pune district, bringing irrigation support to farmers in Baramati, Daund and Purandar talukas. The water is being released through the Mutha Right Bank Canal.
Under the current plan, 800 million cubic feet of water will be made available for the Janai scheme, while 160 million cubic feet has been allocated for the Shirsai scheme. The releases are intended to support dryland farming areas during the rabi season.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Canal Advisory Committee held at the end of last month. The meeting was chaired by Deputy Chief Minister and Pune district guardian minister Sunetra Pawar. The committee considered the need to provide water through the Janai-Shirsai schemes to the affected areas.
For the Janai scheme, water was scheduled to be released into the Varvand and Shirsofal reservoirs from 2 November. These reservoirs are part of the distribution arrangement for supplying water to the scheme’s command area.
The rabi release for the Shirsai lift irrigation scheme began on 5 November, according to the Water Resources Department. Initially, five pumps were used to lift the water. A sixth pump has since been brought into operation.
The department has said that 160 million cubic feet of water will be released into the Shirsai command area over 15 days. The release is being managed through the lift irrigation system, which draws water for distribution to areas covered by the scheme.
The current operation links the availability of water in the canal system with the irrigation needs of agricultural areas across the three talukas. For farmers in the scheme’s command areas, the timing of the release is significant because the water is being supplied during the rabi cropping season and against the backdrop of drought conditions in the district.
The water allocation and pumping schedule announced by the department set out the immediate operational details of the rabi rotation. The Janai scheme has been assigned 800 million cubic feet, while the Shirsai scheme’s allocation is to be delivered over a 15-day period. Further implementation will depend on the ongoing release through the canal and pumping network.
