Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao today launched the prestigious Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) at Jayashankar Bhupalapally district here. Noted as Telangana lifeline, the project is aimed to irrigate over 45 lakh acres in 13 districts and cater to drinking water needs. It was estimated cost of the project was Rs 80,000 crore but later it increased by Rs 11,000 crore to complete.
Telugu States’ Governor ESL Narasimhan attended the function along with Maharashtra Chief Minister Fadnavis and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy as chief guests. CM KCR released waters at Kannepally pump house and Medigadda barrage after a two-hour long Homam from 8 am to 10 am performed by priests.
The Chief Minister, along with his wife Shobha, kickstarted the inauguration process of the KLIS by participating in the Kaleshwara Jalasankalpa Mahotsava Yagam performed at Medigadda. In traditional attire, the Chief Minister made offerings and participated in the rituals. After duly placing the deity of Mother Godavari, the seers of Sringeri Peetham and Vedic priests performed rituals amidst chanting of hymns at different homa gundams in the presence of Chandrashekhar Rao and his wife Shobha. The couple dedicated the project to farmers of Telangana State.
KCR renamed the earlier Pranahita-Chevella project conceived by previous Congress government as Kaleshwaram by redesigning it. Some 6,000 engineers, 60,000 workers and officials involved in this mega project, which becomes lifeline to parched lands in Telangana and boost agriculture production. So far, some Rs 50,000 crore was spent for the project. All the dignitaries performed rituals and made the offerings to Godavari River at the barrage. Jagan formally unveiled the plaque marking the barrage inauguration.
The TRS government began it as a prestigious project to irrigate 45 lakh acres in Telangana State. The officials used five helicopters to shift the chief guests Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and AP Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and others to the program site. Fadnavis later appreciated CM KCR for the project. “We have cooperated with K Chandrashekhar Rao to prevent and use 3.5 tmc going waste into sea as he requested us”, Fadnavis said He hoped that Telangana, AP and his State will use waters as needed and develop farm sector.
Earlier, AP Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy arrived at Medigadda venue as per the schedule in a special helicopter from Vijayawada and was welcomed by Minister Vemula Prashanth Reddy on arrival. Jagan Mohan Reddy was accompanied by his ministers Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy and Anil Kumar Yadav. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis too arrived at Begumpet airport and was welcomed by Ministers A Indrakaran Reddy and V Srinivas Goud along with Chief Secretary SK Joshi and other officials. Later, Governor ESL Narasimhan, along with Maharashtra Chief Minister Fadnavis and others, were flown to Medigadda in a special helicopter.
Governor ESL Narasimhan formally inaugurated the pump house and Chandrashekhar Rao unveiled the plaque marking inauguration of the pump house in the presence of Jagan. They took part in the Poornahuti of the yagam at Kannepalli pump house and offered special prayers to Godavari River. Later, they went around the pump house as the Chief Minister explained the importance of the pump house to the visiting dignitaries.
In this programme, Telangana State Ministers Etela Rajender, Vemula Prashanth Reddy, Sri Errabelli Dayakar Rao, Indrakaran Reddy, Srinivas Goud, AP Ministers Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy, Anil Kumar Yadav, Telangana State Chief Secretary SK Joshi, DGP Mahender Reddy, IG Nagireddy, Maharashtra DGP Jaiswal, MPs J Santosh Kumar, B Venkatesh Neta, Whip Palla Rajeshwar Reddy, MLAS D Sridhar Babu, G Venkatramana Reddy, ZP Chairperson Ms Tula Uma, former Speaker Madhusudhan Chary, Irrigation E-in-Cs Muralidhar Rao, Hareram, Venkateswarlu, SPDCL CMD Gopal Rao, Transco Director Suryaprakash, Jayashankar Bhoopalpally Collector Vasam Venkateswarlu and others participated. (NSS)