Barrages to be built across Pranahita and Godavari

Irrigation department has conducted LiDAR survey in river Pranahita basin to assess the area to be submerged in the Maharashtra under Pranahita –Chevella irrigation project if taken up at Thummidihatti and suitable places to construct barrages on the river Pranahita in Telangana.

The survey was conducted two days ago in river Pranahita basin in Kautala and Bejjur mandals in the Adilabad district. The survey was also aimed at to identify the suitable places to construct number of barrages on rivers Pranahita and Godavari as part of Pranahita- Chevella project. 

The LiDAR survey was conducted in the river Pranahita basin after conducting the same in river Godavari in Karimnagar district.

Irrigation officials and other LiDAR experts conducted survey to asses the extent of areas in the Maharashtra to be submerged under Pranahita- Chevella in the wake of state government’s decision to construct a project at 152 meters height on river Pranahita at Thummidihatti in Adilabad district and to another one is at Kaleshwaram or Yellampalli in Karimnagar district.

The state government has been claiming that the bordering Maharashtra government is not accepting to submergence of the more acres of lands in their territory with rising height of the project.

Major Irrigation DEE of Karimnagar T. Narasinga Rao who participated in survey said ‘they had conducted a  LiDAR  survey in the upstream of the project located in Maharashtra to asses extent of the land to be submerged under the project if go by the 152 meters height’.

He said they were identifying the suitable places to construct barrages on river Godavari and Pranahita as part of the Pranahita- Chevella project and added they had conducted LiDAR survey on river Godavari from Kaleshwaram of Karimagnar to Badhrachalm of Khammam. The Pranahita- Chevella is aimed at providing water for irrigation in Telangana.

Pranahita-Chevella poses a challenge

 KCR is discussing on re-designing   

An effort for redesigning Dr B.R Ambedkar Pranahitha- Chevella Sujala Sravanti Lift irrigation project by the state government has created tension not only among the people of Adilabad district but also in the state.

The efforts for redesigning the Pranahitha- Chevella poses new challenges regarding sharing of river water within the districts in the state like between the two states.

It also creates many doubts on their due share of the water in the project and basis for giving priority to give water to various districts.

The issue of the re-designing of various irrigation projects proposed during the Congress government came to light with the news that state government was planning to shift the project of Pranahitha- Chevella site to Kaleshwaram in Karimnagar from the existing Thummidihatti in Kuatala mandal of Adilabad.

The proposal for dividing the Pranahitha- Chevella irrigation and constructing at two places in Adilabad and Karimnagar gave enough ammunition to the opposition parties to fight against the state government.

Now, all the major political parties joined the bandwagon against shifting the site or dividing the Panahitha – Chevella project.     

All the major political parties Congress, CPI, BJP, CPI (ML-New Democracy), CPM have launched agitation against state government’s decision to construct same project at two places or shifting the project site. The issue is snowballing into major controversy.

The state government arguing that the construction of Pranahitha- Chevella with the present design was not viable.

Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao made it clear during his recent visit to Adilabad that the redesigning of the Pranahitha- Chevella will give water to more acres of lands than the earlier proposed ayacut under the old design of the project.

Leaders of various political parties alleged that Chief Minister was making efforts to take major share of water to his own Medak district from the Pranahitha- Chevalla with redesigning the project with no priority to the needs of people of the Adilabad.

New design to cover more area: CM

KCR to fix height of Pranahita project