BEYOND HEADWORKS

"Why the irrigation fails at the tail end - A walk through the system
What does it mean for an irrigation project to truly succeed?
Is it enough for a reservoir to be full, a canal to be completed, and water to be released from the headworks?
Not if the water does not reach the farmer at the tail-end.
Drawing on nearly four decades of experience in the Irrigation Department of Telangana, V. Srinivas takes the reader beyond dams, canals and project statistics to examine what happens to water after it leaves the headworks.
Through field experiences, encounters with farmers, and observations from major irrigation systems, the book explores the often-overlooked realities of irrigation delivery canal maintenance, field-level supervision, water distribution, institutional weaknesses, Water User Associations, accountability and the growing role of digital monitoring and telemetry.
This is not a conventional engineering textbook. It is a practitioner's account of what he saw, experienced and learned in the field and of how the gap between water released and water received can determine whether an irrigation system actually serves its purpose.
Beyond Headworks asks a simple but fundamental question:
If the farmer at the tail-end is still waiting for water, has the irrigation system really succeeded?
The book concludes by looking beyond diagnosis towards practical reforms that can make irrigation delivery more reliable, equitable and accountable."