CM KCR pledges for SRSP
Rejuvenation and revitalization
Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao
On August 10, 2017 (Thursday), Chief Minister K
Chandrashekhar Rao took a reinforcing pledge
to revive and revitalize the Sri Ram Sagar Project (SRSP), in less than a year,
which was reduced to rubble by the erstwhile Seemandhra rulers in the undivided
AP State. CM reiterated that the scheme would be implemented with the same
commitment that was demonstrated during the fight for Telangana statehood. In
this context, he recalled how he took a vow to lead and realize Telangana state
on the very same SRSP dam in 1996. “God has been very kind to me that I could
fulfill the vow which I took in 1996 and now came to the very site as the Chief
Minister to inaugurate the works on the SRSP,” he said.
Addressing a mammoth public meeting at Pochampad
village after laying the foundation stone for the Rs 1,000 crore scheme, the CM
said that his resolve to fight for separate Telangana had stemmed from the
utter neglect that Sriram Sagar project was subjected to in the undivided
State. “In 1996, I came for a by election campaign in the erstwhile Adilabad
district. I visited the SRSP site here and was shocked to find the project in a
totally neglected condition, where nobody even bothered to apply grease to the
gates and the road on the dam that had huge crates and potholes. I told my party
men and others who accompanied me that only a separate Telangana state would be
the solution to get over the injustices and neglect meted out to the Telangana.
“That day sitting on the SRSP dam I have taken a vow that I would lead the separate
statehood movement and if god gives me health and longevity I will achieve the
same come what may!” The CM said. He expressed his happiness as he could achieve
the dream and now came to the very site to inaugurate the revival and
revitalization of the SRSP.
In his near 30-minutes address in a matter-of-fact tone to the
lakhs of people assembled, the Chief Minister has shared his vision of the
State and his plans to make it fertile with abundant water resources without depending
on the upper riparian state. He also explained how the state’s topography would
change for better if one viewed it from the State capital Hyderabad.
The Chief Minister stated that SRSP has been designed to extend
irrigation to over 14 lakh acres which earlier was not more than 5.5 lakh
acres. Such a poor water yield from a major irrigation project was because it
was not on the priority list of the Seemandhra
rulers of the day. “For that matter, no Telanagana project figured in the
agenda of the previous regimes,” he said. The project for which the first Prime
Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, laid the foundation stone in 1963 and which
was inaugurated later by his daughter, late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi,
failed to satisfy the thirst of the people of the State.
CM said that, the Lakshmi Canal and Saraswathi Canal of the
project would be back in their original shape in a record time. By next June or
July, the SRSP project would be filled with Godavari water. By February next,
the project storage would be built up to 90 tmc. The SRSP flood flow canal would
never go dry hereafter, the Chief Minister ascertained. Farmers in Nizamabad,
Nirmal, Mancherial, and Jagtial would be able to grow two crops a year from
next June, he said.
The Chief Minister said the projects taken up by the erstwhile
rulers were not meant for giving water. “They were of little use for farmers of
the State. But the injustice meted out to Telangana would not last long. Even
God would not tolerate it. There was bound to be a backlash in the form of a
revolution. The contempt for the rulers of the day paved the way for the fight
for statehood. It gave me a great sense of fulfillment and immense pleasure to
lay the foundation stone for the SRSP revival scheme after achieving Telangana
statehood,” he said.
Stating that many people have no proper understanding
about the SRSP flood flow canal, he said once the revival scheme is completed,
the 110 km stretch of the flood flow canal will have live water storage all
year round. It would also support promotion of aquatic life and pisiculture.
The picturesque locales of the project would be a visual treat and will help
promote tourism as well, he said.
The Project would get water from the Pranahitha River, which
joins the Godavari, will be diverted at Medigadda and pumped into the Sriram
Sagar project. Under the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project, from Medigadda,
water will be diverted to Yellampally SRSP flood canals and Mid Manair and
Lower Manair. The CM said that the river Godavari travels a distance of over 400
kilometers through the state and set a target of 70TMC water to be retained in
the Project throughout the year, which will enable the government to provide
water for both the crops.
CM assured that canals would be converted into reservoirs.
The flow capacity of all canals will be increased. The project aims at ensuring
that water flows continuously and throughout the year in the canals of SRSP. The
farmers came forward to give land, and of the 4,600 acres of land sought to be
acquired for the project, 4,510 acres of land was already acquired and only 100
acres was pending, said CM.
The Chief Minister criticized the Congress for filing as many as
96 cases against the Kaleshwaram project. There were obstacles at every stage
for the State government to implement the projects, he said. The hurdles facing
Kondapochamma reservoir that was coming up as part of the Kaleshwaram project
was a live example, he said. The Chief Minister said the Congress was
deliberately targeting irrigation projects in a bid to scuttle the progress of
works. He exhorted the people committed to development of the State to grill
the parties that were out to stall these projects. He called upon the public to question the Congress
leaders for the injustice they have done to the region with respect to creation
of newer irrigation facilities and on obstructing the ongoing projects with
several court cases. The CM
thus targeted Congress leaders blaming them for obstructing the irrigation
projects by filing a series of cases in the courts. “People will pay a heavy
price if they are silent on the court cases filed by Congress leaders,” he
cautioned. END
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