History was created as the dry run test of the world’s largest pump, used in irrigation project, was hundred per cent successfull at the under construction Kaleswaram lift irrigation project in Telangana.
The irrigation department authorities conducted the dry run of 139 MW pump in the presence of Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao in a tunnel at Ramadgu lakshmipur village and with a speed of 214 RPM the run was proved successful.
Officials said that all the seven pumps with the similar capacity will be ready in next couple of month. “Hopefully we will lift water from Yellampally to Mid Manair in October”, Harish Rao said. “By then the sixth, seventh and 8th packages of the project will be completed”.
Kaleswaram across river Godavari was believed to be the biggest lift irrigation project in the world and will have world’s largest motor pumps in service. The pumps have been manufactured by the public sector Bharat Heavy Electricals ltd.
Kaleswaram project will have 86 motors and 19 pump houses to lift the water through reverse pumping. The project was envisaged because of the typical topography of the region in which the river Godavari flows at a lower plane while the land were on a higher plane.
The officials were elated with the successful dry run as this was the most difficult and crucial part of the entire project. This involves the flow of water from Yellampally through two under ground tunnels and from there the seven powerful pumps will lift it to Mid Manair project. Each pump has the capacity to lift 3150 cusecs of water per second and the entire design has the capacity to lift massive 2 tmcft of water per day saving the precious flood water from going waste. The state government has hired the services of German engineers to run this system.
“This will go a long way in fulfilling Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s dream of irrigation one crore acre of land in Telangana”, Harish Rao said.
He congratulated and thanked the engineers and workers for achieving the task in record time by working round the clock.