'SRSP project to get full of water from Kaleswaram this year'

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao Tuesday said the Sriram Sagar Project (SRSP) would be filled with water from the Kaleswaram lift irrigation project this year itself.

Setting ambitious targets for officials, the chief minister asked them to expedite the work on construction of a pump house at Rampur in Jagtial district to fill the SRSP with water.

Rao, who visited and reviewed the progress of work on the Sriram Sagar Revival Scheme as part of the Kaleswaram project (on Godavari river), said the construction of the pump house at Rampur is an important component of SRSP revival scheme.

The water, to be lifted at Kaleswaram project from July, should be pumped into SRSP and also mid-Maner project, a press release quoted him as saying.

SRSP aims at irrigating more than 10 lakh acres.

Rao asked the officials to work towards supplying water under SRSP ayacut (irrigated area) for second crop from this year.

He asked the agencies executing the work to employ more people, if necessary, to achieve the target on time.

Telangana people, farmers in particular, have lots of hope on Kaleswaram and are eagerly looking forward for water, he said.

Aiming to irrigate one-crore acre, the state government has taken up construction of projects like Palamuru-Ranga Reddy, Kaleswaram, Sitarama Lift Irrigation scheme, he said.

Among these, the Kaleswaram project is crucial as it aims to supply water to meet requirements of drinking water (about 80 per cent of the districts in the state), farm sector and industries, he said.

Once this project is completed, the entire state of Telangana will become fertile, he said.

Generally, a mega project like Kaleswaram would take about 15 to 20 years to complete, but the state government in a short span of two-and-a-half years had built barrages and pump houses to lift water from river Godavari to supply to the farmlands.

Rao, who is keen on completion of the Kaleswaram project work on time and as per schedule, made a second visit to the project site within a span of 15 days.

On May 19, he had visited Medigadda Barrage and Kannepally pump houses, the release added.