In a significant development under the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme KLIS), Telangana Chief Minister (CM) K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) inaugurated the 15-TMC capacity Kondapochamma Sagar reservoir on Friday.

The event is said to have seen lesser presence of people. Religious seer Chinna Jeeyar and several other priests performed rituals before the Chief Minister switched on pumps at the Markook pump house in Gajwel, Siddipet.

With KLIS officials releasing water from the Markook pump house into the reservoir, Godavari waters have reached the maximum height in the last phase of the lift irrigation. The reservoir level is 618 m and is estimated to provide irrigation facility to 2,85,280 acres of ayacut through 13 canals. The 15.800-km Kondapochamma Sagar reservoir was built at the cost Rs 1,668.55 crore.

The reservoir, with three main sluices, will irrigate and serve water needs, through gravity, in Siddipet, Sangareddy and Bhuvanagiri districts.

Earlier in the day, CM KCR participated in homams before inaugurating the reservoir. Finance Minister T Harish Rao, Endowments, Law and Environment Minister Indrakaran Reddy, Agriculture Minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy, Principal Secretary Irrigation Rajat Kumar, Transco and Genco CMD D Prabhakar Rao, beside other officials attended the event.

The water reached the pump house in Makrook and reservoir after being pumped through a stretch of nearly 250 km and to a height of 618 metres above sea level.

The Kondapochamma reservoir will be advantageous to drought-prone areas, whose agriculture is mainly reliant on rainwater during monsoons and borewells.

Speaking at a press conference after the inauguration, KCR said that the government has completed the feat with the unforgettable sacrifices of farmers and those affected by the construction.

Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme is one of the crown projects of the KCR-led government with 165-TMC capacity (including barrages). It has three barrages and 1,531 km of gravity canals and 203 km-long tunnels along with 19 pump houses and 20 reservoirs. KLIS aims at irrigating as many as 45 lakh acres in the state.

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