World's largest multi-stage, multi-purpose lift irrigation project Kaleshwaram was on Friday dedicated to the nation by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. The project, constructed by Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) will start from July.
Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) was inaugurated in the presence of Governor ESL Narasimhan, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
The inaugural ceremony was held at the project site in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district near the borders with Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.
Till date, the biggest lift schemes in the world were the Colorado lift scheme in America and the Great Manmade River in Egypt. The capacities of these schemes are in horsepower and they took over three decades for completion.
Now, the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project, an Indian lift scheme has become the world's biggest in terms of capacities.
Facts about Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP)
1. Built across Godavari river, KLIP will lift the water to a height of half-a-kilometer.
2. It is designed to irrigate 45 lakh acres for two crops in a year, meet the drinking water requirement of 70 percent of the state and also cater to the needs of the industry.
3. The foundation stone for the Rs 80,500 crore project was laid in 2016 and claimed to be the world's biggest project of its kind, completed in the shortest time.
4. The government is planning to lift two thousand million cubic (TMC) feet of Godavari water per day from Medigadda barrage.
5. Claimed to be an engineering marvel, the project comprises 1,832 km water supply route, 1,531 km gravity canal, 203 km tunnel routes, 20 lifts, 19 pump houses and 19 reservoirs with a storage capacity of 141 TMCs.
6. It requires nearly 4,992 MW of electricity to pump 2 TMC of water every day in the first phase. The requirement will go up to 7,152 MW for lifting 3 TMC from next year.