KUMRAM BHEEM ASIFABAD

Telangana government is resolute in its commitment to revive the Pranahita-Chevella Sujala Sravanthi project (Tummidihatti barrage), said Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao and Labour Minister G. Vivek.

The TG government will soon hold talks with the Maharashtra government in this regard to take forward the proposal for the construction of a barrage of 150 metres height across the Pranahita river at Tummidihatti in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district, they told reporters after visiting the project site at Tummidihatti on Friday.

Mr. Rao said the Union Ministers, MPs and MLAs of the BJP from the State should strive to convince the Maharashtra government to construct the barrage. They should take this up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the State on May 10, Mr. Rao said. The Centre should support the cause of Telangana people and farmers, he added.

The project will help increase groundwater table and prove beneficial for both Telangana and Maharashtra. The Telangana government is prepared to give compensation for land loss for the project, he said.

The Bhoomi puja for the project was performed by the then Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh the late Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy in 2008. It was designed to irrigate 16 lakh acres at an estimated cost of ₹38,500 crore. Lands to an extent of 71.5 km were acquired and 46 km length of canals were constructed during that period, he noted.

Mr. Rao alleged that the previous BRS government arbitrarily changed the barrage site from Tummidihatti to Medigadda and constructed the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) by spending several thousands of crores, posing a huge debt burden on the State exchequer.

He pointed out that the pillars of the Medigadda barrage of the KLIP sunk in October 2023, rendering it defunct since then.