2 Narlapur PH Palamuru-Rangareddy LIS engines switched on for potable water

Water gushing from the dispensing tanks of the Yellur (Narlapur) pumping station in the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme on Wednesday. | Photo credit: By arrangement

HYDERABAD

Two engines of the Narlapur pumping station of the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) at Yellur in Nagarkurnool district were switched on Wednesday to pump about 6 tmc feet of water from the banks of the Srisailam reservoir to meet the drinking needs of the combined Mahabubnagar district against the backdrop of El Nino-affected conditions.

Excise and Tourism Minister Jupally Krishna Rao along with Congress legislators Kasireddy Narayan Reddy (Kalwakurthy) and Tudi Megha Reddy (Wanaparthy) switched on the engines to raise the Srisailam water. Each of the 145 megawatt motors, larger than the ‘bahubali’ motors used in the Kaleshwaram project of 139 MW each, would lift 3,000 cufts of water to a height of 104 meters and impound the 6.4 tmc ft Narlapur reservoir.

After revving up the engines, Mr. Krishna Rao alleged that the BRS government had gifted the project to the people even before its completion, just a few months before the assembly elections in December 2023. However, the Congress government accelerated the implementation of the project, including taking up canals, distributions and other works. If the previous government had completed the project, the people of Palamur would not have faced the water problem.

He further alleged that despite transferring the debt burden of ₹8 crore, the previous government had not completed any of the projects. If it completes even the Kalwakurthy, Nettempadu, Bhima and Koilsagar projects, a total of 9.1 million acres would be irrigated in the combined Mahabubnagar district.

According to the Irrigation Department engineers, the first four stages of the lifts contain 31 pumps and another 3 as spare pumps, all with a gigantic capacity of 145 MW. They are the largest capacity pumps for use in a lift irrigation project anywhere in the world. The Narlapur pumping station will have eight plus one pumps and together could lift more than 2 tmc ft of water every day.

The water to be pumped into the Narlapur (Anjanagiri) reservoir would be used only to meet drinking needs as the project is yet to receive environmental clearance to meet irrigation needs.

Published – 14 Oct 2026 19:52 IST