Dry run of PRLIS's first machine successful, paving way to irrigate 12.3 lakh acres in south Telangana

KOLLAPUR: Marking the beginning of irrigating 12.3 lakh acres in south Telangana districts and providing safe drinking water with the help of the much-awaited Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS), one machine of 145 MW capacity was switched on Sunday under the supervision of senior engineers and lift irrigation experts, contractor MEIL and supplier BHEL.

With the success of the dry run, the engineers are now planning to take up the wet run on September 15. “The work is done on a war footing as per the directions of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. Now our next target is to lift the water to Karivena reservoir within 45 days, “a beaming Special Chief Secretary Rajat Kumar told media at the Narlapur pump house in Kollapur mandal of Nagarkurnool district.

He said that the successful dry run of one machine out of the nine at the Narlapur pump house in fact marked the opening of the multi-stage PRLIS. “After the wet run on September 15, water will be taken to the next stage to Yedula reservoir on September 25. From there to Vattem reservoir and finally to the set target of Karivena within 40-45 days,” Rajat Kumar declared.

The dry run at Narlapur was significant to the erstwhile Mahbubnagar district as it would irrigate 3.5 lakh acres and cater to the drinking water needs of 1,200 villages. The machines in all the PLRIS pumps are of record size in capacity as nowhere in the world, 145 MW pumps are used to lift water can be found only in power generating units. The success achieved on Sunday also vindicated Telangana’s stand that the PRILS was not detrimental to the environment nor was it robbing its neighbouring state’s share of water in River Krishna.

While water from Srisailam reservoir’s backwater was to be lifted in six stages (5 lifts and 1 gravitational), the works were divided into 21 packages, and four pump houses were to be built under Narlapur-Uddandapur links. Work on Narlapur, Yedula and Vattem is nearing completion. Work on Uddandapur pumphouse is going on a war footing.