Krishna River Water Release for Kharif Crops in Andhra Pradesh to be Delayed

01-Jun-2026 04:36 PM

Vijayawada. The commencement of the sowing process for Kharif crops in the Krishna Delta region is likely to be delayed by at least 15 days this year, as a decision has been taken to release irrigation water from the Krishna and Godavari rivers for sowing purposes only on July 1st.

The reasons cited for this delay include growing concerns regarding the El Niño weather cycle, the delayed onset of the Southwest Monsoon, and negligible water inflow into the major reservoirs within the Krishna basin.

The government has fixed July 1st as the date for releasing water for the 2026-27 season, whereas last year, the process of releasing water had commenced as early as June 15th.

Prior to this, water release from the rivers began on July 10th in 2024, June 7th in 2023, June 10th in 2022, and July 5th in 2021.

The Krishna Delta region encompasses four districts—Krishna, NTR, Guntur, and Eluru—comprising approximately 1.3 million acres of agricultural land, where paddy cultivation is the primary activity. The timely release of water from the rivers is essential to facilitate the establishment of paddy nurseries and to ensure successful transplantation.

Although water has been released on schedule in the Godavari Delta, the water level in the Krishna River remains low. However, if the region receives adequate rainfall by mid-July, there will be no difficulties regarding the release of water.