By Senior Correspondent V V Durga Prasad
VIJAYAWADA: In the first major interlinking of Indian rivers, the dream of connecting the Krishna and the Godavari has been achieved through the medium of the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Project, constructed to convey the Godavari’s water to the Krishna and commissioned by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandra Babu Naidu on July 6, 2016.
Twenty-four heavy-duty pumps began emptying Godavari floodwater into the Polavaram Right Main Canal through which the life-giving fluid flowed into the Krishna at Ferry village near here. The foundation stone for P.L.I.P. – which involved an expenditure exceeding Rs. 1,000 crore – was laid on March 29, 2015 in West Godavari District’s Pattiseema village. The objective is to pump 80 TMC ft into the 174 km-long P.R.M.C. that pours it in the Prakasam reservoir from where the water is released to the Krishna Eastern and Western deltas.
Seventy per cent of the P.R.M.C. was completed prior to the state's bifurcation. However, land acquisition became a challenge for the Naidu dispensation that eventually convinced peasants. The government aimed at utilising Godavari floodwater by diverting it to balance availability of water resources in coastal Andhra Pradesh and drought-prone Rayalaseema region. It claimed that the interlinking saved crops worth Rs. 2,400 crore in West Godavari and Krishna districts. The regime made it clear that the P.L.I.P. would continue to pump Godavari water into the Krishna till completion of the Polavaram Multipurpose Project across the Godavari.
State Water Resources Minister Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao clarified that the link project was constructed under provisions of the Bachawat Tribunal Award and agreement involving Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
Interestingly, the confluence at Ferry has become a sacred place attracting numerous tourists.
Mr. Naidu has announced interlinking of the Krishna, Penna and Godavari.