Prakasam Barrage

Prakasam Barrage was constructed across the River, Krishna near Vijayawada city in Andhra Pradesh on upstream side of the breached and damaged century old anicut. It is a Regulator built on sand foundations, combined with a road bridge of 24 Ft for two lane traffic with 5 Ft wide foot paths on either side, connecting Chennai-Kolkata Highway. The Barrage was necessitated to be constructed to meet the demands of the increased irrigation ayacut of 13 lakhs acres.

Prakasam Barrage is the first major irrigation project of South India. 

The old anicut breached during 1952 and during inspection Superintending Engineer Sri Vepa Krishna Murthy and other staff have demised their lives.

Construction of the Barrage was taken up on 13-2-1954 and completed  when the  road bridge  was open for public traffic after inauguration on 24-12-1957. The project was completed with in 3 ½ years with less cost and high quality. 

The total project cost was Rs.2.78 crores.

BENEFITS

1. Assured water supply to the increased ayacut of 13.00 lakh acres in Krishna, West Godavari, Guntur and Prakasam districts.
2. Transplantation could be speeded up and completed early, especially in the tail end submersible lands.
3. Crops could be saved from damage due to deleterious submersion.
4. The food grains worth of about Rs.2,500 crores could be produced every year.
5. Road bridge resulted an overall economy.

http://irrigation.cgg.gov.in/CompMaj/KrishnaDeltaDetail.htm

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