Kaleswaram irrigation project set for first phase launch by

The work on the Rs 80,000 crore Kaleswaram Lift Irrigation scheme (KLIS), unique in its scale and engineering, is progressing at a brisk pace and the first phase likely to be commissioned in another two months, according to state Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao.

The project across river Godavari aims at irrigating 37 lakh acres in the northern part of Telangana, covering almost two-thirds of the state. Foundation for the scheme was laid on May 2, 2016.

In addition, it would cater to the industrial and drinking water requirements of Hyderabad and a number of other districts in the state.

The project was massive in scale as it involved construction of three barrages and 19 reservoirs with the aim of storing water and making it available throughout the year, Rao said.

"It is the biggest ever lift irrigation scheme in our country. It is a 520 metres lift irrigation scheme," Rao told a visiting team of journalists at the project site at Laxmipur near here, over 150 km from state capital Hyderbad.

He said 19 reservoirs with 142 TMC capacity were being constructed. "We are constructing series of three barrages across river Godavari. So, water will be available for 365 days a year," Rao added.

The water availability would benefit the farmers, fishermen, besides helping promote ground water table and the forests, he said.

"So, Kaleswaram will be a lifeline. The idea of Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Rao is to give water to one crore acres," he said.

The pumps and motors and electric material for the project were being bought from six countries and PSU major BHEL also supplies major equipment, he said.

Talking about the scale of KLIS, he said the project involved working with neighbouring Maharashtra, besides obtaining clearances from three ministries and 10 directorates in Delhi.

The government had been working to supply water in 24 to 30 months after obtaining the clearances, though completion of such major projects takes decades in the country, Rao said.

"We are expecting to commission the first phase (of the project) in the month of August," Rao said.

The state government would start giving water to the farmers in next two months and expand it further gradually, he said.

The cost of the Kaleswaram project was Rs 80,000 crore and the state government was taking loans from nationalised banks in addition to investing its own funds, the minister said.

The project was originally conceived during the previous Congress regime, but it has been re-engineered by the TRS government for optimum utilisation of water.

Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL), one of the leading infra companies in the country, is executing some critical packages of the KLIS out of which Package-8 boasts of the largest pump house in the world.

Each pump has a capacity of 139 MW and a total of seven pumps are being installed in the underground pump house. The pump house is designed to lift three TMC water per day.

The discharge capacity of this single electric pump is so huge that it can fill the Hussain Sagar lake in Hyderabad city in just a couple of days. If switched on at the same time, the seven pumps together can discharge 21,000 cusecs of water, a rare engineering feat, MEIL said.

"Generally, pump houses for lift irrigation projects are built at ground level near river banks to pump water to higher elevation. However, KLIS is unique in its respect. The depth of this super structure is about one third of a kilometre below the ground. A structure of such massive size is a first of its kind in the world," the company said.

It was also airlifting some imported equipment to meet the project's targeted timelines, it said.

Rao, who made a presentation on the project at the site, said incentives were being given to the workers to retain them during major festivals so that the project works progressed at a rapid pace.