Saideepa Kumar grew up in the little town of Puttaparthi in the Anantapur district in the Rayalaseema region of the state, where water is very scarce. Ten years later, studying for a Master’s in water management in Australia, Ms Kumar has decided to do her research in the same region, where farmers face a constant water crisis. She gave up her career in IT to follow her heart and apply the knowledge gained in Australia to help farmers in her home district.

“After having worked in the IT sector, I quit my job and enrolled for a Master’s course in water management and undertook my research project in India,” she says, adding that her research study is a joint venture between the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in Hyderabad and the University of Melbourne.

Ms Kumar’ research has been funded by the Australian Prime Minister’s Australia Asia Award. Australia has also witnessed severe drought-like conditions in the past one decade which led them to develop innovative ways to manage scarce water resources. “The study suggest solutions for efficient water use of canal system to address both drought and water logging situations by uniform distribution of water,” said an official.

The study focuses on the Srisailam Right Branch Canal (SRBC) commissioned in 2004 to provide canal water to drought-prone areas around Nandyal in the Rayalaseema region, which has scanty rain and over-exploitation of ground water. Though the canal system initially helped farmers, it also threw up new problems, as the study shows.

source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> Channels> Cities> Hyderabad / DC / January 23rd, 2012