Telangana Finance Minister T Harish Rao today released waters from the Godavari into the Kudavelly, a tributary of the river.
In an unusual sight, water from the Mallanna Sagar canal, part of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP), gushed through the Kudavelly riverbed at the height of summer. The minister and a group of local leaders marked the occasion by offering flower petals to the waters.
The move to release the waters will solve the irrigation problems being faced by the farmers of Gajwel and Dubbaka. About 2,000 acres in the constituencies will reportedly become irrigated land after this, pushing up the total arable land in the areas to 12,000 acres.
Speaking on the occasion, an elated Rao said, "800 cusecs of water will be released into the Kudavelly till the 34 check dams constructed across it that lie in Gajwel, Thoguta, and Dubbaka are sufficiently filled. Just a small amount of water from the KLIP has been able to save crops worth lakhs of rupees."
"Our visionary Chief Minister, K Chandrashekar Rao, has been able to help the farmers of Siddipet district realise their dream of irrigating their farmlands with a stable supply of water through his hard work and dedication to developing irrigation infrastructure in Telangana. The success of the KLIP is proof enough of this. Though the Opposition had rubbished KCR's proposal to redesign the mega project, he stood firm in his resolve to do so. And today, the results are visible to us all - where Siddipet never even had enough drinking water under the rule of the Congress and the TDP in united Andhra Pradesh, under the TRS, not only has the region received a stable drinking water supply but also plenty of water for irrigation. KCR has made agriculture profitable in the state," he gushed.
The overjoyed farmers, many of whom could hardly believe their eyes, thanked the CM and the minister for their timely intervention.
The waters were released after Harish Rao
apprised KCR about the problems of the farmers through a phone call, day before yesterday.