K Chandrasekhar Rao visit speeds up Sriramsagar works

Nizamabad: Rejuvenation works of the Sriramsagar project were speeded up in composite Nizamabad and Karimnagar districts. State government approved Rs 1,067 crore for the rejuvenation scheme in June 2017 and the work was awarded to Navayuga engineering company for Rs 927.12 crore in August 2017.

The work was planned to complete within 15 months by November 2018, but are not yet completed. As a result, proposals were submitted seeking extension upto the end of June. In this context, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao visited Rampur pump house of the scheme in Jagtial district on Tuesday and directed officials to complete works at the earliest.

The Sriramsagar project, the lifeline for north Telangana districts has been losing its sheen for the last three decades. Around 12 irrigation projects including Babli were constructed in upstream areas of the river Godavari in Maharashtra state. As a result, water inflow into the Sriramsagar project was adversely affected. The storage capacity of the SRSP was also reduced to 90 from 112 tmc.

Siltation in SRSP also affected water storage for agriculture and drinking water needs.

In this context, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao approved a rejuvenation scheme for the SRSP with reverse pumping of water from the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project. Around 2 tmc of water will be lifted from Yellampally every day for mid Manair and SRSP rejuvenation schemes.

Minister for R&B and Transport Vemula Prashanth Reddy was instrumental in sanction of the SRSP rejuvenation scheme. He accompanied the CM during the Kaleshwaram and SRSP rejuvenation schemes inspection on Tuesday.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, SRSP rejuvenation scheme executive engineer Sudha Kiran said that they plan to conduct a wet run by July 15. “We are concentrating on completing works of the Rampur and Metpally pump houses, to enable reverse pumping of 54 tmc water,” he explained. By September water will reach SRSP, he added.