Kaleswaram project in T'gana to benefit 70 per cent districts

The Kaleswaram Lift Irrigation project, which would be inaugurated on June 21, is expected to supply water to 70 per cent of districts in Telangana to meet agriculture, drinking water and the industrial needs.

The Telangana government has decided to start pumping water from the next month, official sources said.

"Water from river Godavari at Medigadda, which is about 100 metres above sea-level, is lifted at six stages and supplied to Kondapochamma Sagar, which is at 618 metres height," an official release said.

"In other words, the water from Godavari River is being lifted at about half-a-km height. The pump houses are being constructed to lift 2 TMC of water every day this year," it said.

Preparations are on to lift three TMC of water from next year.

The Telangana government had entered into an agreement with the Maharashtra government on March 8, 2016, putting an end to differences that existed for decades over the issue, it added.

The agreement has paved way for the construction of Kaleswaram project at Medigadda.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao laid foundation stone at Kannepally for the Kaleswaram project on May 2, 2016.

Within a short span of three years, major components of the Kaleswaram project, including construction of barrages, pump houses have been completed.

The release further noted that the construction of the reservoirs was going ahead on a fast track.

It is estimated that for the lifting two TMC water from Kaleswaram, 4,992.47 MW power is required and arrangements are being made for the supply of adequate power.

"For the first time in the annals of country's history, the Telangana State Electricity organisations are using 139 MW pumps in the Kaleswaram project at package-8 Ramadugu. Nobody ever used such a capacity pumps in the country," the release said.

"To complete all the works on Kaleswaram project in a record time, works are going on 24 X 7. Under the projects, three barrages, 19 reservoirs, 20 lifts are constructed for the storage capacity of 141 TMC," it added.

The Telangana Chief Minister had gone to Mumbai last week and invited his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis for the inaugural ceremony.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy would also be invited for the event, a CMO release had said last week.

Meanwhile, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader M Bhatti Vikramarka alleged Sunday irregularities in implementation of Kaleswaram project.

Claiming that the project was originally initiated as B R Ambedkar Pranahita-Chevella project when late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy was Chief Minister in undivided Andhra Pradesh at a cost of Rs 38,000 crore, he said a sum of Rs 10,000 crore was spent during Congress regime.

However, the TRS government re-designed the project and increased the estimated cost to more than Rs one lakh crore, renaming it as Kaleswaram project, he said.

"Thus, crores of rupees of public money were misused," he alleged.

In an open letter to Jagan Mohan Reddy on Sunday, Vikramarka said if he attended the inauguration of Kaleswaram project it would "disappoint the soul of (his father) Rajasekhara Reddy."