The concept of interlinking rivers is not new. In the olden days, rulers also explored ways to divert river waters to parched areas. In India, the concept was floated first in the 1800s. MEIL successfully implemented five challenging river-linking projects in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh in India, earning a name for itself in this large-scale civil engineering projects space.
Narmada-Kshipra-Simhastha:
The project is the first river-linking project through lift irrigation in India. It addresses the drinking water needs of the Malwa region, which is at a height of 600 metres from the mean sea level in Madhya Pradesh (MP). As supplying water through canals up to this altitude is impossible, the government has linked the rivers Narmada, Kshipra, and Simhastha. The company successfully implemented the project giving access to drinking water to the people. It was handed to the state government on March 27, 2014.
Handri-Neeva Sujala Sravanthi (HNSS):
This is one of the most challenging projects undertaken by the MEIL. The company has proved its engineering strengths by installing pumping stations that can lift water to the highest region and supply it through long canals. The MEIL built the HNSS in two phases. It has 43 pump houses with 289 pumping units installed in them. No country, including the United States of America or China, has a lift irrigation scheme with these many pump houses.
Muchumarri lift irrigation:
The project is part of the Handri-Neeva Sujala Sravanthi (HNSS) project in Andhra Pradesh. The company is lifting the Srisailam backwaters and providing it to the Kurnool-Cuddapah (KC Canal) canal, also called the KC Canal, in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. Before the project commenced, the KC Canal did not receive the Tungabhadra water. Completed ahead of schedule, the company has brought water to the region.
Pattisam Lift Irrigation:
Two of the largest rivers in southern India, the Godavari and the Krishna, were interlinked. Completed ahead of schedule, it features in the Limca Book of Records.
Purushothapatnam:
The project is part of the interlinking of the river Godavari with the Yeleru reservoir in Andhra Pradesh. The Purushothapatnam phase-1 lifts water from the River Godavari, sends it to phase-2, and then to the Yeleru Reservoir. Vishakhapatnam city receives drinking water and the industries too. Farmers in the East Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh also benefit.
Project status: Completed