Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP), claimed as the world’s largest multi-stage and multi-purpose lift irrigation scheme, was inaugurated by Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao at Medigadda where the first barrage of the project is located in Jayashankar-Bhupalapally district on Friday.
The project is intended to irrigate over 37 lakh acres of new and existing ayacut, providing drinking water to Hyderabad and villages en route and supplying water for industrial needs by lifting 195 tmc ft of water from the Godavari at 2 tmc ft a day during the flood season. By lifting one more tmc ft water a day later, the government plans to bring another 8 lakh acres under irrigation.
Mr. Rao dedicated the project to people with the inauguration of the barrage in the presence of Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana E.S.L. Narasimhan and Chief Ministers of Maharashtra and AP Devendra Fadnavis and Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, respectively. Later, he switched on a motor of the pump house at Kannepally to lift water from Medigadda barrage and take it upwards to Annaram barrage.
The scene of water gushing out of two pressure mains (pipes) at the delivery cistern near the pump house about eight minutes after switching one of the six motors marked the head works of the project becoming functional. A large number of officials, bankers of the consortium that part-funded the project through a special purpose vehicle, executives of the work agencies and equipment suppliers including Megha Engineering, L&T, BHEL and others besides several Cabinet colleagues of Mr. Rao witnessed the two events. Annaram barrage, further upstream of the Godavari, was inaugurated by Agriculture Minister S. Niranjan Reddy and its pump house by Home Minister Md. Mahamood Ali. Similarly, Sundilla barrage and pump house were inaugurated by SC Development Minister K. Eshwar, the pump house at Nandi Medaram by Labour Minister Ch. Malla Reddy and the pump house at Laxmipur by Education Minister G. Jagadish Reddy.
After participating in Jalashaya Prathistanga Yagam and Jalasankalpa Mahotsava Yagam performed by vedic scholars KCR along with his Maharashtra and AP counterparts inaugurated Medigadda barrage by ribbon cutting. They also visited the Maharashtra side of the river bank by travelling on the new bridge constructed across the river downstream of the barrage.
At Kannepally pump house, Manging Director of Megha Engineering P.V. Krishna Reddy explained to the dignitaries about Kannepally and other pump houses constructed by them. Mr. Rao personally gave send-off to the Governor and Chief Ministers of Maharashtra and AP after felicitating them and presenting mementoes.
Mr. Fadnavis is learnt to have visited Kaleshwara Muktheshwar temple at Kaleshwaram after inauguration of Medigadda barrage. Chief Secretary of Telangana S.K. Joshi, Director General Police M. Mahender Reddy, Maharashtra DGP S.K. Jaiswal, AP Ministers P. Ramachandra Reddy and P. Anil Kumar Yadav, Engineers-in-Chief C. Muralidhar, N. Venkateshwarlu and B. Hariram participated.
