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Punjab CM brings team to study Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme, praises Telangana

Telangana officials answered his queries about raising the groundwater table, since it has been going down relentlessly in Punjab.

Raj Rayasam

Published Feb 16, 2023 | 8:40 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 16, 2023 | 8:44 PM

Mann and his team also learnt about the benefits check dams would bestow on farmers. (Bhagwant Mann/Twitter)

Mann and his team also learnt about the benefits check dams would bestow on farmers. (Bhagwant Mann/Twitter)

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and a team of officials from his government on Thursday, 16 February, studied how the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) helped Telangana not only on the crop front but also raised the underground water table.

The chief minister of the northern state interacted with the media after Telangana government officials explained to his team how the lifting of Godavari waters under KLIS had transformed the landscape.

The Godavari waters flowed in Telangana’s outback, providing irrigation facilities, which automatically brought the groundwater table up, he noted.

He also evinced a keen interest in the Kondapochamma reservoir, which is part of the KLIS, and Pandavula Cheruvu in the Siddipet district.

A model to follow

The Telangana officials answered all the queries he had about raising the groundwater levels, since the groundwater table has been going down relentlessly in Punjab.

Mann said that he was very impressed with the initiatives of the Telangana government in enhancing irrigation facilities for parched lands in the state’s hinterland.

He felt that the measures for raising the groundwater table in Telangana had given positive results in the shortest possible time.

Mann said that he would examine how this could be implemented in Punjab where the economic mainstay is paddy, a water-intensive crop.

 

Raising the water table

Mann said that it was an achievement to lift Godavari waters by a height of 500 metres to serve specific regions in Telangana.

Mann said that he was proud that his state had the largest irrigation project — Bhakra Nangal — and his state occupied the number one position in food grain production.

He, however, expressed concern over the exploitation of groundwater resources, which was leading to water-table depletion. “About 80 percent of the groundwater table in Punjab is in the Dark Zone,” he said.

He said, “We will modernise the old-fashioned irrigation system in Punjab.” He added that the responsibility on his shoulders was to bring back his state’s former glory. It had suffered under successive governments in the state, he noted.

Also read: SC order puts Kaleshwaram capacity increase back on track

Further studies

The team from Punjab, led by Mann, also studied how the tanks had been constructed, restored, or repaired under Mission Kakatiya, which also has a bearing on groundwater table levels.

The team also learnt about the benefits check dams would bestow on farmers.

Telangana officials told the team that after the emphasis the state had laid on building dams and lakes, the groundwater table has risen considerably.

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