Kaleshwaram water reaches Upper Manair reservoir

Buoyed at seeing Godavari water, local farmers performed pujas to the water at Srigada bridge and also performed palabhishekam to the portraits of CM KCR and MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao

Rajanna-Sircilla: Marking a major milestone in the rapid progress of the mega Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme, Godavari waters flowed into Upper Manair reservoir for the first time on Tuesday, fulfilling the seven-and-half decade old dream of farmers in the area.

The Godavari water entered the district at Srigada bridge near Narmala of Ghambiraopet mandal late on Monday evening. The water passed through Mid Manair, Annapurna reservoir, Ranganayakasagar, Mallannasagar pump house, Kondapochamma canal and Kudavelli rivulet before reaching Upper Manair dam.

Buoyed at seeing Godavari water, local farmers performed pujas to the water at Srigada bridge and also performed palabhishekam to the portraits of the Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao and local MLA and Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao.

To fulfill the drinking and irrigation needs of local farmers, Upper Manair reservoir was constructed in 1945-51 by the Nizam. Like other small reservoirs, the 2 tmc capacity Upper Manair also faced water scarcity problem in united Andhra Pradesh.

In April 2008, the then Chief Minister YS Rajashekhar Reddy laid the foundation to fill Upper Manair project by lifting Godavari water as part of Pranahith-Chevella project but it didn’t see the light of day.

After coming to power, Telangana government has taken up the project as part of the prestigious Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project. In the month of February 2015, KT Rama Rao assured to fulfill the water needs of local farmers by completing the works as early as possible.

At present, 1 tmc water is available in the project as against its storage capacity of 2 tmc. Based on Rama Rao’s instructions, irrigation officials have released Godavari water from Kondapochamma canal to fill the project its brim.

It was intended to provide water to 13,000 acres of land besides filling 12 tanks falls under Upper Manair reservoir.

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