KCR Visits Lakshmi Barrage at Medigadda

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao today visited the Lakshmi Barrage at Medigadda and inspected the water flow of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP).

The CM, who visited the project site along with his wife Shobha and various ministers and officials of the state, first paid tributes to the "life-giving" waters of the Godavari, and then went on to express his happiness and satisfaction at the uninterrupted pumping of water in the KLIP, which is now nearing completion.

He congratulated the water resources department's officials, the working agencies and the officials from other government departments for their efforts in completing the works in a timely manner, and encouraged them to undertake the other major irrigation projects in the state with the same commitment.

"We treated the construction of the Kaleshwaram project as a yagnam. The committed officials associated with the project solved many problems like land acquisition issues with great temerity and presence of mind. I must also mention the role played by the thousands of workers who toiled every day under the hot sun so that the people of the state could benefit from an uninterrupted water supply system. I am very happy that the project, which was started for the benefit of the farmers of Telangana, has now become operational - it is a source of great satisfaction to me that the dreams of the farmers of the state have been realised, and that we have been able to find a solution for the drinking water problems plaguing the state," the CM said.

Speaking on the occasion, he also recalled the hardships that the TRS government had faced while completing the project.

"Since the Telangana farming community had been facing hardships due to erratic water supply networks for decades, we had resolved to alleviate their problems as soon as Telangana was formed. It was our dream, as much as it was the farmers', to solve the water shortage problems of the state. We had therefore planned to construct a barrage at the confluence of the Godavari and the Pranahita rivers to pump sufficient water to the areas upstream of the two rivers. Following a technical survey conducted by the officials of the Water and Power Consultancy Services Limited, it was decided that a barrage would be constructed at Medigadda. The Lakshmi barrage at Medigadda is fully operational now. With a height of about 100 m, it can store up to 16.17 tmc of water. It is expected that the barrage will be able to pump water for about seven months a year. It gives me great happiness to see that water is being pumped at the barrage without any trouble. We have achieved our goal of giving water to the farmers. As a result of this, they will be able to grow two crops simultaneously," the CM said.

"The barrage, brimming with water, extends as far as 54 kms into the Pranahita and 42 kms into the Godavari, and its waters will soon reach the reservoirs at Yellampally, Mid Manair, Lower Manair Dam, Mallanna Sagar, Kondapochamma Sagar, Baswapur and Gandhamalla. Arrangements are being made to supply water to the Nizam Sagar dam from Kaleshwaram. Further, water from the KLIP can also be pumped into the Sri Ram Sagar Project if need be. The Kaleswaram project has changed the face of Telangana's irrigation sector. Inspired by this success, we are now motivated to complete the construction of the Tupakulagudem Barrage for the Devadula project and the Dumugudem Barrage for the Sitarama project. We want to complete all these projects quickly so that we can put an end to the farmers' hardships once and for all," Rao added.

He then directed the officials of the irrigation department to prepare standard operating guidelines for the KLIP, and asked them to start pumping water from its barrages, which are reaching full reservoir level, to fill the tanks and other connected water bodies by the summer.

"Set up control rooms at the Medigadda and the Dumugudem barrages, and prepare operational rules for all the projects. Please also ensure that the rules are implemented on a timely basis," KCR said.

Earlier in the day, the CM and his wife also visited Kaleshwaram's Muktheshwara temple to perform a special puja.

Ministers Koppula Eshwar, Gangula Kamalakar and Errabelli Dayakar Rao; Government’s Chief Advisor Rajiv Sharma; Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar; DGP Mahender Reddy; Principal Secretary (Water Resources) Rajat Kumar; CM's Secretary Smita Sabharwal; Water Resources Department Engineers-in-Chief Muralidhar Rao, Venkateswarlu and Pedapalli MP Venkatesh Neta; Warangal Rural Zilla Parishad chairpersons Putta Madhu and Gandra Jyothi; Government Whip Balka Suman; MLAs Gandra Venkatram Reddy, Portika Chander, Divakar Rao and Manohar Reddy; and MLCs Puranam Satheesh and Naradasu Laxman Rao were among those who participated in the inspection.