Residents form up near a water tanker to collect water as groundwater levels drop, in Visakhapatnam. File
| Photo Credit: V. Raju
The money would expand the
The proposed three-part plan begins with restoring the carrying capacity of local water sources through desilting, bund strengthening, and real-time monitoring. It also requires expanding the Yeleru reservoir’s total capacity to 40 tmc ft—a project necessitating up to 5,000 acres of land—while building five new 5-tmc-ft balancing reservoirs around Greater Visakhapatnam to meet rising industrial demands.
“These five structures would require a cumulative land footprint of 10,000 to 12,500 acres with depths of 20 to 25 meters, backed by dedicated feeder canal networks linked to the 
Visakhapatnam’s industrial growth, with hyperscale data centres, green hydrogen plants and heavy manufacturing units coming up, sits against thin water availability. The region has also had a poor monsoon, with a rainfall deficit exceeding 50% across the coastal belt this season.
While the 
Published - September 10, 2026 04:49 pm IST
