Express News Service By

HYDERABAD: A water resources management portal - Telangana Water Resources Information System (TWRIS), jointly developed by the irrigation and CAD depar tments of the state government and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), was formally launched here on Saturday.

Open to the common public, the portal, besides helping in management of water resources and assistance to agriculture, will also help detect encroachments of lakes. A MoU was government and the ISRO on Saturday to this effect.

Speaking on the occasion, irrigation minister T Harish Rao said: “With this technology, water available, area irrigated, cropping pattern and other details would be available. Impact assessment of ‘Mission Kakatiya’ can also be done with this technology. The portal would help us survey, assess and implement new irrigation projects,” he said.

ISRO chairman AS Kiran Kumar said that monitoring of water levels in the water bodies and update every 10-15 days would benefit the state in management and better use of its water resources. “Within a couple of months, we will launch ‘Resource Sat 2A’ which would add to the water resource data and management. We will give whatever data and tools Telangana government needs to manage water bodies,” he said. The portal would also help stem encroachments of lakes. “Once FRL is marked, then reduction levels can be detected,” said secretary, irrigation and CAD department of the state government, Vikas Raj.