“I am immensely happy. What I dreamt in the separate Telangana state has been fulfilled with the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, which has emerged as lifeline of the State,” Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said here on Monday.
The Chief Minister along with family members and cabinet colleagues visited Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy Devasthanam and offered special prayers to the presiding deities. Later, he visited the Mid Manair Dam — Sri Raja Rajeshwara (SRR) Reservoir — and offered prayers to river Godavari. He also stopped his convoy and inspected the backwaters of the MMD at Sircilla and also Shabashpalli bridge in Boinpalli mandal and offered prayers to the waters.
In the integrated Andhra Pradesh State, Telangana region was neglected on the irrigation front, he said and added that now the river Godavari would be alive throughout the year and there would be water for at least 140 km stretch from Medigadda barrage to MMD reservoir. With the filling up of the KLIP projects from Medigadda, Annaram, Sundilla, Sripada Yellampalli project, MMD and also LMD, the ground water table had considerably recharged and water was oozing out of the borewells in the erstwhile composite Karimnagar district.
No more drought
Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao said that the KLIP would irrigate about 75 to 80 lakh acres in the State and another 15 to 20 lakh acres through the recharged ground water. “Gone are the days when drought used to stare at the erstwhile undivided Karimnagar district in spite of the flowing of river Godavari,” he said and added that now the farmers of the district could happily cultivate two crops. He said that the water would be in abundance in the SRSP flood flow canal for about 160 km with the SRSP rejuvenation project.
“I am really happy to see the MMD reservoir filled to its brim holding 25 tmc ft of water and downstream LMD with 24 tmc ft of water,” he said. He also said that he was thrilled to see the hillocks along the shores of MMD reservoir resembling the Papikondalu along river Godavari in the Andhra Pradesh.
Tourist destination
The government would would develop tourism at MMD, Nampally hillocks and LMD reservoir, the CM said.
The government was planning to construct 1230 check-dams, including 39 in Karimnagar district, across Manair river and Mulavagu rivulet. He said that he would soon conduct a meeting with the legislators on the construction of check-dams in the Karimnagar district.
