A trial run of the three pumps houses were done to clear the decks for its inauguration by CM A Revanth Reddy on Independence Day.
Published Aug 13, 2024 | 2:13 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 13, 2024 | 6:46 PM
An image from the trial run of a pump of the Sita Rama Lift Irrigation Scheme.
Even as the Congress government is getting ready for the commissioning of the Sita Rama Lift Irrigation Scheme on 15 August, the Opposition BRS threw its oar in, saying that the credit for the project should go to former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao.
The project, the third largest irrigation project in the state after Kaleshwaram and Palamru Ranga Reddy lifts, is a dream come true for the farmers of the Khammam district. It has been a long time coming. The farmers hoped the project would end their perennial water problem for their crops.
Intent on stealing the thunder from the project, former minister and BRS leader T Harish Rao on Monday, 12 August, said that the credit for the project should go to the BRS as it was under its dispensation that the project was constructed and that the Congress was stealing the credit for it.
Despite the BRS’ protests that the Congress was claiming credit for the project that is not theirs, the ministers, nonetheless, had a trial run of the three pumps houses of the project on Sunday to clear the decks for its inauguration by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Independence Day.
The project, the Congress leaders said, would be available to the farmers in full by August 2026.
Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy switched on the three pump houses of the project along with ministers from two ministers from Khammam district — Thummala Nageswara Rao (Agriculture) and Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy (Revenue).
After performing a trial run of the pumps, the Congress ministers simultaneously tried to take the wind out of BRS’ sails that the BRS when it was in power had neglected the project with the result that it could not be completed early.
They said that after the advent of the Congress government in the state, the project work picked up speed.
The Godavari River Management Board is at the cusp of clearing the Sita Rama Lift Irrigation Scheme to lift 67 tmccft water from the Godavari River.
The government is keen to complete the remaining portion of the project by August 2026 so the entire proposed ayacut under the project could get water. The Eskuru link canal, which would be named after former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi would stabilise the ayacut of the project.
To complete the project, the government would have to turn its attention to the construction of tunnels in Yatalakunta and Julurupadu which act as distributary canals.
There were also problems with taking the canals across railway lines in some areas for which the government said it would hold talks with the railways to find a solution
The state government would also have to secure clearances from the Supreme Court, and the Environment and Forest Ministry. The government is yet to acquire a large chunk of 3,000 acres of land which is divided into Package 1 and Package 2.
If these works are completed, there would be a stabilisation of 3.4 lakh acres of ayacut and water to 2.6 lakh acres of additional ayacut.
“The Sita Rama Lift Irrigation Scheme is intended to provide water to about six lakh acres. This would enhance productivity and improve the living standards of the farmers. The Congress government is committed to completing the project by 2026,” said Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy during the trial run of the motors.
Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy alleged that the previous BRS government, in the name of redesigning the project, had inflated its estimate to ₹18,000 crore from ₹2,400 crore.
The Congress government would eschew profligate spending and at the same time ensure the reaching of water to the parched fields across the district, he said.
However, the Opposition BRS has a different take on the project. BRS leader T Harish Rao sought to remind Congress leaders that if the project came to the stage where it is today, it was because of the vision of former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR).
The former minister said that KCR had named the project Sita Rama Lift Irrigation Scheme because it was very close to his heart.
“Since the government changed, the ribbon-cutting opportunity went to the congress. Revanth Reddy is eager to steal the credit for the project on Independence Day,” he said, adding that those who steal credit are called parasites, living off others’ glory.
He wanted to know what the contribution of the Congress in the construction of the three pump houses for which a trial run was done by the ministers on Sunday.
“How could you complete the project within eight months of coming to power at a time when it takes years for the acquisition of land and obtain clearances from the departments concerned in Delhi? Our government had completed 95 percent of the project. The Congress leaders are whiling away time by inaugurating the flyovers we had constructed, flagging off new buses we had acquired and are distributing cheques for the schemes that we had brought,” he said.
The Sita Rama Lift Irrigation Project replaced the Rajiv Dummugduem Lift Irrigation Scheme (RDLIS) and Indira Sagar Rudramkota Lift Irrigation Scheme (ISRLIS) which were contemplated when the Congress was in power in the undivided state of Andhra Pradesh.
The reason was that it was meant to remove major bottlenecks and issues in both schemes. The erstwhile BRS government integrated the two projects into one suit ground conditions and irrigation requirements of Khammam district.
The Sira Rama Lift Irrigation Project has envisaged creating irrigation potential for five to six lakh acres in Khammam district. It proposes to draw water from the Godavari River upstream of the existing Dummugudem anicut. The anicut is located at Dumugudem village, 20 km upstream of Bhadrachalam.
The project comprises a 10.5 km long approach canal, a 457 km gravity canal, five pumping stations and four balancing reservoirs. The Project has been planned to draw 9,000 cusecs of water from the Godavari River.
Thereafter water will be lifted at BG Kotturu village and then water will flow through a gravity canal of 29.20 Km. Then, the water will be lifted at Koyagutta and flow through a gravity canal of 21 km. Subsequently, the water will be lifted at Kamalapuram, where the canal divides into two branches.
The first branch will cover the Rajiv Sagar area and the second branch will cover the Indira Saga area. The gravity canal after lift from Kamalapuram will cover an area of Indira Sagar ayacut. Under this scheme, it is also proposed to stabilise the ayacut of about 80,000 acres through the Bayyaram Tank.
The government claims that the project has advantages like avoiding Kinnerasani Wild Life Sanctuary and its eco-sensitive zone. The project’s canals will cross railway lines at very few places against too many level crossings under RDLIS.
Also, the alignment of SRLIP does not interfere with the Ash Pond area of Kothagudem Thermal Power Station (KTPS) and runs away from Palvoncha town, whereas the alignment of RDLIS is very close to Palvoncha town, interfering with the Ash Pond area of KTPS.
The alignment of SRLIP runs only in Telangana, avoiding interstate issues with Andhra Pradesh. The head works of ISRLIS were located in the administrative boundary of the residual Andhra Pradesh, giving scope for friction with the reorganised state of Andhra Pradesh.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil)
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