Sammakka Sagar Barrage
(or Thupakulagudem Barrage) is a
barrage across
Godavari River
The Godavari (IAST: ''Godāvarī'' �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga river and drains into the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakeshw ...
at Thupakulagudem Village,
Eturnagaram
Eturnagaram is a village and a mandal in Mulugu district in the state of Telangana in India.
Dolmen
There is a megalithic dolmen graves site near Eturnagaram in Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary. .
Wildlife sanctuary
The mandal area is surrou ...
Mandal,
Mulugu District of
Telangana State. It stabilizes the existing irrigated area of 2,51,310
Hectare under
J. Chokka Rao Devadula Lift Irrigation Scheme and 3,04,000 hectares of
Sriram Sagar Project stages I & II with 50 TMC of water. Another 50 TMC will be used for providing drinking water to villages en route.
Sammakka Sagar Hydro Electric Project has been planned for generation of 240MW (10 units of 24MW) through run-of-the-river generation. This hydro electric project is expected to be completed by
Telangana State Power Generation Corporation Limited.
History
This barrage was earlier referred to as ''Kanthanapally Barrage'' and it was proposed at 17 km downstream of the existing
J. Chokka Rao Devadula Lift Irrigation pump house with ''Full Reservoir Level (FRL)'' at +85.0 meters. The barrage would've been constructed at narrow gorge on Godavari river at Kanthanapally village () but this would've led to submergence of about 4 villages fully and 11 villages partially. Potential land acquisition hurdles were also expected, as this would require acquisition of 7789.42 hectares of land. This barrage was earlier part of ''P V Narasimha Rao Kanthanapally Sujala Sravathi Project (PVNRKSSP)''.
In 2016, in order to avoid issues related to submergence and land acquisition,
Government of Telangana decided to construct Thupakulagudem Barrage at the present location, which is 3 km downstream of the existing J. Chokka Rao Devadula Lift Irrigation pump house with FRL of +77.0 meters. At this location, there is no large land submergence with only river bed of 580.18 hectares and 94 hectares of surrounding land will get submerged. This would provide pondage for drawing the water for J. Chokka Rao Devadula Lift Irrigation scheme.
On February 13, 2020, Thupakulagudem Barrage was officially renamed as Sammakka Barrage,
after tribal warrior goddess Sammakka. The boundary of
Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary is located at the close proximity from this barrage, where biennial festival of
Sammakka Saralamma Jatara
Sammakka Saralamma Jatara (also Sammakka Sarakka Jatara and Medaram Jatara) is a festival to honour the Hindu Tribal goddesses, celebrated in the state of Telangana, India. This Jatara is known for witnessing one of the largest people gather ...
is held honour the
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
tribal goddesses Sammakka.
In Spring 2021, the civil works of the barrage were mostly completed and subsequently in June, 2021
the process of impounding water into barrage commenced. At an FRL of +85 meters, 6.94 TMC of water is expected to be stored whereas, at reservoir level of 70 to 71 meters 2.90 TMC of water is expected to be stored. J. Chokka Rao Devadula Lift Irrigation Project uses water from 71 meters.
The works pertaining to ''Sammakka Hydro Electric Project'' are yet to be started by ''Telangana State Power Generation Corporation Limited'' and only civil works pertaining to the intake penstock gates has been reported to completed.
References
{{Hydrography of Telangana
Barrages in India
Dams in Telangana
2021 establishments in Telangana
Dams completed in 2021