T'gana emerges as state with 1 cr acres of fertile land due to robust irrigation system

New Delhi: In spite of several challenges that Telangana faced after bifurcation, the state government led by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has registered a wonderful and miraculous development in the irrigation sector. It's the outcome of the development of a robust irrigation system that Telangana has emerged as the state with one crore acres of fertile land.

Under the leadership of KCR, the Telangana government has completed several pending projects such as Kalwakurthy, Nettempadu, Koil Sagar, Bhima, Yellampally, Mid Manair, Devadula by fast-tracking the development work.

According to an official statement, Palamuru district, which was once regarded as a famine-ridden district, has become fertile and the migration of labour has stopped. Similarly, the state government has modernised the canals of Nagarjuna Sagar, Sriram Sagar, Nizam Sagar and other old projects.

"Under Mission Kakatiya, 46,531 lakes have been revived and 15 lakh acres ayacut was stabilised. It has resulted in increasing the groundwater table and developing aquaculture. Bio-diversity has also increased," it said. Notably, ayacut is the area served by an irrigation project such as a canal, dam or a tank.

"Besides these, construction of 1,200 check dams all over the state at the cost of Rs 3,825 crore is at different stages of completion to revive rivers, lakes, streams. Works on Palamuru-Rangareddy, Sitarama, Dindi, Gattu Lift irrigation scheme, Chanaka-Korata projects are going on a fast track," it said.

The state government has also constructed a multipurpose Kaleshwaram project in a record time. The Kaleshwaram project is one of the biggest man-made lift irrigation projects in the world. The Mega Kaleshwaram Project, which was completed in a short span of 36 months, has three anicuts, 20 major water lifts, 20 pump houses, 20 reservoirs, several tunnels, and canals at a length of 2,000 km.

"Godavari waters are being lifted from 90 mts to 618 mts height as part of the project. Kaleshwaram project became a growth engine and provided water for two crops in a year to 45 lakh acres," it said, adding that Kaleshwaram project water is being also used to revive the Sriram Sagar project by using the unique reverse pumping technique.

With the construction of the Kaleshwaram project, the state government has ensured that 100 TMC of water is stored in Godavari River.