Special Correspondent
KHAMMAM: Jubilation marked the successful trial run of the Bhakta Ramadasu Lift Irrigation (LI) scheme when 350 cusecs of water lifted from the Palair reservoir in Kusumanchi mandal reached the DBM-60 main canal of the SRSP stage-II in Tirumalayapalem mandal after traversing a distance of 16.5 km in less than one-and-a-half hours on Monday.
Festival mood prevailed at the DBM-60 main canal at Islavath Tanda in Tirumalayapalem mandal late on Monday afternoon after Krishna waters drawn from the Palair balancing reservoir gushed into the canal much to the delight of local villagers.
Farmers and local body elected representatives from various upland areas in Palair constituency flocked to the spot to have a glimpse of the breathtaking view of a huge volume of water gushing into the empty canals, though on a trial basis.
The curious onlookers mostly comprising tribal farmers of Islavath Tanda praised the initiative of Minister for Roads and Buildings Tummala Nageswara Rao for ensuring speedy completion of the LI scheme meant for the drought prone areas of Palair constituency in a mission mode.
Earlier in the day, the project engineers operated one motor at the pump house of the LI scheme at Erragadda Tanda near Palair reservoir and pumped water into the canals through lift as part of the trial run.
The successful conduct of the trial run of the Palair-Madhiripuram LI scheme, named after the legendary saint composer Bhakta Ramadasu, rekindled hopes of assured irrigation facilities among farmers in the upland areas of Palair constituency.
The LI scheme, having an irrigation potential of 58,958 acres, is expected to be inaugurated by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in the next two weeks.
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