KTR highlights KCR’s vision of Kaleshwaram, Mission Bhageeratha for Telangana’s progress

HYDERABAD: : Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s vision and unwavering commitment ensured that Kaleshwaram, the world’s largest multi-stage lift irrigation project, and Mission Bhagiratha, the safe drinking water project to every doorstep in Telangana, transformed the landscape of the youngest state in India, Telangana IT and Industries Minister K T Rama Rao said on Monday at the World Environmental and Water Resources Congress at Henderson of Nevada, US.

Delivering the keynote address soon after the prestigious event commenced, KTR said that the two schemes – KCR’s brainchild – uplifted many lives that were deprived of basic amenities like drinking water for decades before the emergence of Telangana as the newest state of India.

KTR, on this occasion, showcased the benefits of the interlinked projects to the top civil engineers of the world at the five-day conference.

Recalling his address at the EWRI in 2017 when Telangana had just embarked on rebuilding the State and the consequent visit of the EWRI members to the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP), KTR said that he was back to the USA to present the progress report.

“It is a story of resilience and transformation, it is an account of groundbreaking engineering achievements, more than anything, it is a remarkable odyssey of the purpose-driven leadership of one man K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), the first elected Chief Minister of Telangana,” he said.

KTR recounted the remarkable transformation of Telangana in the last nine years. The Minister spoke at length showcasing Telangana's story of resilience and transformation and presented an account of groundbreaking engineering achievements achieved by the youngest state of India. “Telangana has successfully built the world's largest multi-stage lift irrigation project, Kaleshwaram, and completed the ambitious Mission Bhagiratha, providing piped drinking water to every home in the State. These remarkable projects were not only completed in record time but also with utmost efficiency and cost-effectiveness,” KTR said.

The minister established how a once arid Telangana region – in severe distress due to lack of irrigation water, insufficient drinking water, rampant migration and farmer suicides – had transformed under the visionary leadership of KCR. “CM KCR has fought an uphill battle and transformed the fate of Telangana,” he added.

KTR said that, with strategic planning, innovative thinking, and meticulous execution, KCR had translated his vision into tangible results and underscored the milestones achieved by the state on various counts across sectors.

“The completion of the Kaleshwaram project in record time stands as a testament to his exceptional leadership and his ability to turn ambitious ideas into concrete achievements. Driven by a relentless passion for change, KCR embarked on a mission to solve Telangana's decades-old water problem,” he said.

To the world audience, KTR presented the scale of the Kaleshwaram project, the amazing speed at which the various components of the project were built, the social equity and the enormous benefits of the project. To elucidate the mammoth magnitude of the project, the minister said, “This colossal engineering marvel was completed in a record span of just four years with an investment of USD 11 billion. The amount of earth moved during its construction would fill 101 Pyramids of Giza. The steel used in the project would be enough to build 66 Eiffel Towers and the concrete poured would erect 53 Burj Khalifas.” On a lighter note in this context, he said, “to bring in the local reference, at least a few Hoover Dams could be built with the concrete,” he said while citing the Hoover Hydroelectric Power Plant of Nevada.

KTR said that planned investments in new irrigation projects and revitalization of existing systems contributed to the expansion of cultivated land and led to the ushering of five revolutions in agriculture and allied sectors. “The Kaleshwaram Project has transformed Telangana into the new rice bowl of India, irrigating lakhs of acres with two crop cycles. The gross irrigated land has increased by an impressive 119 percent, and paddy production has multiplied fourfold, from 3 million tonnes in 2015-16 to 15 million tonnes in 2022-23,” he told the gathering.

Commending the contribution of an exceptional workforce from across the country who were involved in the massive projects, the Telangana minister said, “The remarkable success of these two prestigious projects in Telangana is a testament to the hard work and dedication of an exceptional workforce including talented engineers. People from different states in India came together, contributing their skills and expertise to make these projects a reality.”

KTR said that by lifting a river against all odds, Chief Minister KCR had uplifted millions of lives and livelihoods in Telangana. “As the river flows with renewed vigour, may the spirit of the Kaleshwaram Project continue to inspire us to defy limits and create a future where no challenge is too great and no dream is out of reach,” the minister concluded.