PNS|Hyderabad
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said Telangana’s canal-based irrigation system that efficiently uses river water would be replicated in Punjab.
He appreciated the Telangana government’s work ensuring the efficient use of water by taking up the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS). Mann came to TS to explore chances to build a similar project in Punjab.
Mann visited the Konda Pochamma Sagar, built as part of KLIS at Markook, where Special Chief Secretary (Irrigation) Rajat Kumar explained about the reservoir.
He also briefed Mann on KLIS, after which the Punjab Chief Minister examined the motor pumps used for the lift irrigation project.
KCR built the Kaleshwaram Project in such a short span of time. All other states are wondering how come a project like Kaleshwaram can be a reality, he said.
He said that KCR is a ‘great visionary leader,’ and termed it a miracle that water can be pumped up water to a height of more than half a km.
He also said that Punjab has around 14 lakh tube wells and that a lake irrigation system needs to be developed in the state.
He later visited a check dam built across the Kudavelly Vagu near Erravally village in Markook and the Pandavula Cheruvu, which has been developed into a mini tank bund after restoration.
Mann said that he would always be happy to learn good initiatives from any part of the world.
The Punjab CM said the Telangana government had launched the Basthi Dawakhana concept after seeing it in New Delhi. Interacting with farmers at Pandavula Cheruvu, the CM enquired how their lives had changed after the formation of Telangana.
Pochaiah, a farmer, explained his position before and after Mission Kakatiya, to Mann. Pochaiah said that his two acres were kept empty and that he had given up agriculture due to water scarcity.
After Mission Kakatiya, ponds were rejuvenated and bunds were widened and strengthened and storage capacity increased. Groundwater levels also rose considerably.
The farmer spoke told the Punjab CM that he is cultivating one crop of paddy and three crops of vegetables which earns him around Rs 2 lakh a year. The farmer said that he never expected this change in his life.
The farmers replied that their income had increased considerably after getting irrigation water. The groundwater table too had improved considerably as the government built a large number of reservoirs across the State, they told him.
Mann said that in Punjab farmers dig deep borewells for water just as people dig for oil in UAE and Saudi Arabia.
He noted that farmers everywhere in the country were struggling, regularly staging protests as they could not get remunerative prices for their crops. This was a sad reality as 80 per cent of the Indian population depended on agriculture.
He said that they will coordinate with Telangana officials in future in implementing development schemes.
Maan said the states in India are like flowers in a bouquet. We must exchange our ideas and development practices for the progress of the country, he added.