Ghanpur lift irrigation trial run brings relief to Siddipet farmers

Despite police action, the spurious cotton seed menace continues in Mancherial, with cases rising in recent years. Smugglers operate across State borders, targeting farmers with illegal seeds, while enforcement gaps and alleged corruption hamper control efforts.

Siddipet: The dream of getting Godavari water to four villages located on the other side of Pedda Vagu in Nanganur mandal was realised as the Ghanpur Lift Irrigation Project workers conducted a trial run of the pump on Friday. Even though the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) and Ranganayaka Sagar reservoir works were completed long ago in the Siddipet constituency, getting Godavari water to these four villages had remained a distant dream since the villages are located on the other side of Pedda Vagu, a prominent rivulet in the district.

However, former minister T Harish Rao had envisioned supplying irrigation water to over 4,000 acres in these four villages following appeals from farmers. The water will be lifted to a height of 24 metres from the Ranganayaka Sagar canal to the Ghanpur pump house, from where it will be released to Akkenapally, Ghanpur, Gatla Malyala and Khatha villages, apart from impounding 13 minor irrigation tanks located in and around these villages.

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Farmers of these villages celebrated after the trial run was completed successfully. Though the majority of works of the Ghanpur Lift Irrigation Project were completed during the BRS rule, the remaining works have been completed recently and operations have commenced. The 4,142 acres of ayacut under the project will get irrigation water from the coming Vanakalam onwards. Farmers thanked Chandrashekhar Rao and Harish Rao for bringing Godavari water to their fields as promised during the Telangana movement.