Expert Proposes ₹200 Crore Lift Irrigation for Kurnool. (Representational Image)
Kurnool: An irrigation engineering expert from Kurnool M. Subbarayudu has proposed a cost-effective lift irrigation project, estimated to cost less than ₹200 crore, for meeting the water requirements of the Kurnool district. He says the project can be completed within four months.
His plan involves lifting water from the Vedavathi River using pumps and putting it into the Tungabhadra Lower-Level Canal. The water would then flow and join the Gajuladinne project in Kurnool, with small reservoirs constructed along the way to store water during transit.
Agricultural lands in the western region of Kurnool district are facing water scarcity, leading to increasing migration of people from the region. Concerned, retired deputy executive engineer M. Subbarayudu has recently written to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, suggesting the lift irrigation project. It is anticipated that this proposal will soon be examined at the field level.
The Vedavathi project had initially been designed in 2019 to provide fresh water to 253 villages and two municipalities, apart from irrigating 80,000 acres of land with a reserve of 8 TMC. However, after the YSR Congress came to power, it reduced the project's scope to 3 TMC, while the cost increased to ₹1,942 crore. The project is currently stalled due to land acquisition issues.
Given this background, Subbarayudu has proposed building a lift irrigation project at a height of 20 metres in the Vedavathi River at Gulyam village in Halaharvi mandal, and laying a four-kilometre pipeline to connect it with the Tungabhadra Lower-Level Canal. This would cost ₹150–200 crores and resolve issues related to drinking water and irrigate 2.50 lakh acres of land during both Kharif and Rabi seasons.
Quoting the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal verdict, the retired deputy executive engineer says 23.5 TMC feet of water from Vedavathi can be utilised by AP.
"The project is cost-effective and will cover Alur, Adoni, Mantralayam, Yemmiganur, Kodumur and Kurnool constituencies with only two pumps. Reservoirs can be built downstream to increase storage,” Subbarayudu maintained.
Agricultural lands in the western region of Kurnool district are facing water scarcity, leading to increasing migration of people from the region. Concerned, retired deputy executive engineer M. Subbarayudu has recently written to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, suggesting the lift irrigation project. It is anticipated that this proposal will soon be examined at the field level.
The Vedavathi project had initially been designed in 2019 to provide fresh water to 253 villages and two municipalities, apart from irrigating 80,000 acres of land with a reserve of 8 TMC. However, after the YSR Congress came to power, it reduced the project's scope to 3 TMC, while the cost increased to ₹1,942 crore. The project is currently stalled due to land acquisition issues.
Given this background, Subbarayudu has proposed building a lift irrigation project at a height of 20 metres in the Vedavathi River at Gulyam village in Halaharvi mandal, and laying a four-kilometre pipeline to connect it with the Tungabhadra Lower-Level Canal. This would cost ₹150–200 crores and resolve issues related to drinking water and irrigate 2.50 lakh acres of land during both Kharif and Rabi seasons.
Quoting the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal verdict, the retired deputy executive engineer says 23.5 TMC feet of water from Vedavathi can be utilised by AP.
"The project is cost-effective and will cover Alur, Adoni, Mantralayam, Yemmiganur, Kodumur and Kurnool constituencies with only two pumps. Reservoirs can be built downstream to increase storage,” Subbarayudu maintained.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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