Hyderabad: The prestigious Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project entered key phase in successful running of wet run of the first pump under Package 6 conducted on Wednesday morning. As the first pump (124.5 MW capacity) was put to operation, water gushed out of the delivery cistern while the project authorities and engineering staff erupted in celebration.
Secretary in Chief Minister’s Office Smitha Sabharwal performed puja and launched wet run by switching on the first motor. The motors started lifting water from the Nandimedaram surge pool and pumping it towards the reservoir from where the Godavari waters will reach Lakshmipur surge pool. Again the water will be lifted and sent to Mid-Manair reservoir.
Package 6 of the project has seven pumping units installed and two more pumps of the same capacity were scheduled for wet run on Thursday. These pumping units are meant for lifting water vertically some 110 metres up on a 45 – degree gradient to the delivery cistern. Package six, which involved an overall cost of Rs 4,961 crore will provide vital connectivity from the lift irrigation scheme to Nandimedaram project, the halfway point to the mid-Manair project.
Sridhar Rao Deshpande, OSD to Chief Minister (Irrigation) worked relentlessly for the past four years to complete works on package 6. He thanked the Chief Minister for his commitment to complete the works on the project by according it top priority. Engineer-in-Chief N Venkateswarlu also thanked the project staff on their feat.
[source_without_link]NSS[/source_without_link]