2 motors of Narlapur PH of Palamuru-Rangareddy LIS switched on for drinking water

HYDERABAD

Two motors of the Narlapur pumphouse of the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) at Yellur in Nagarkurnool district were switched on Wednesday to draw about 6 tmc ft water from the foreshores of Srisailam reservoir to meet drinking needs in the combined Mahabubnagar district in the backdrop of conditions impacted by El Nino.

Minister for Excise and Tourism Jupally Krishna Rao along with Congress legislators Kasireddy Narayan Reddy (Kalwakurthy) and Tudi Megha Reddy (Wanaparthy) switched on the motors to lift Srisailam water. The motors with 145 megawatt capacity each, larger than the ‘bahubali’ motors used in Kaleshwaram Project with 139 MW capacity each, would lift 3,000 cusecs of water for a height of 104 meters to impound Narlapur reservoir with 6.4 tmc ft capacity.

Speaking after switching on the motors, Mr. Krishna Rao alleged that the BRS government had dedicated the project to people even before its completion just a couple of months before the December 2023 Assembly elections. However, the Congress government had speeded up the project execution, including taking up canals, distributaries and other works. Had the previous government completed the project, the people of Palamuru would not have faced the water problem.

He further alleged that despite passing on a debt burden of ₹8 lakh crore, the previous government did not complete any of the projects. Had it completed even Kalwakurthy, Nettempadu, Bhima and Koilsagar projects, a total of 9.1 lakh acres would have come under irrigation in combined Mahabubnagar district.

According to the irrigation department engineers, the first four stages of lifts comprise 31 pumps and an additional 3 as spare pumps, all with gigantic capacity of 145 MW. They are the largest capacity pumps to be used in a lift irrigation project anywhere in the world. The Narlapur pumphouse will have eight plus one pumps and together they could lift more than 2 tmc ft water every day.

The water to be pumped into Narlapur (Anjanagiri) reservoir would be used only to meet drinking needs as the project is yet to get environmental clearance for meeting irrigation needs.