Telangana: Uninterrupted irrigation for Rabi crops under Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme

Rabi crop irrigation schedule under Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme would proceed as planned, and the farmers in the ayacut area would not be let down, said Irrigation Engineer-in-Chief N Venkateswarlu

Hyderabad: The Rabi crop irrigation schedule under the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) would proceed as planned, and the farmers in the ayacut area would not be let down, Irrigation Engineer-in-Chief N Venkateswarlu asserted on Saturday

He emphasized that the structural issues with the Medigadda project’s piers would not hinder the water pumping process from the Godavari River. The ongoing construction of a coffer dam over the sagging sections of the dam is set to be expedited. Once complete, all pumping stations will be fully operational to draw the requisite water volume from the Godavari.

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Work crews and machinery have been extensively deployed to the Medigadda site to expedite the coffer dam’s construction. The civil works for pier rehabilitation are scheduled for completion by the first week of December.

Water pumping operations to aid Rabi farmers will resume well ahead of this time line. The water requirement from the Medigadda (Lakshmi) barrage for this year’s Rabi season is estimated to be between 15 to 16 tmc, which is considerably less than the 30 tmc allocated last year.

The Engineer-in-Chief also dispelled concerns about any potential reduction in Rabi crop areas. Most regional reservoirs are filled to capacity, lending strong support to Rabi farmers. For instance, the Sriram Sagar Project (SRSP) currently holds about 87 tmc of water, exceeding last year’s 75 tmc on the same day. Similarly, the Mid Manair and Lower Manair dams have more water than they did on the same day last year, standing at 23 tmc (15 tmc last year) and over 20 tmc (17 tmc last year) respectively.

Venkateswarlu emphasized that all preparations have been made to offer robust support to Rabi farmers this year, thanks to the advanced filling of various dams in the region.