The success of any project is the culmination of the efforts of numerous stakeholders, including domestic and international companies, expert teams conducting research, engineers providing constant supervision, and finally, the muscle power of thousands of foot soldiers, the workers.
In Telangana, the MEIL built the world's largest multi-stage lift irrigation scheme, Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project ( KLIP ). Workers from across the country lent their shoulders to the construction of the massive project. But, beyond the digging, laying of power lines, and installing pumping machines, the company's persistence and initiative, combined with the State government's support, made the Kaleshwaram project possible. In three years, the company built 12 pumping stations with a combined capacity of 4,439 MW with 104 machines.
The Kaleswaram Lift Irrigation Project is one-of-its-kind, undertaken on such a massive scale. The project gained prominence as a multi-stage lift irrigation scheme by lifting the largest river, the Godavari, from the bottom to the top.
Reaching the unreached
No other project has these many pump houses on the planet, and the company made this possible. This demonstrates our superior capability and expertise. The Kaleshwaram project, in all, has 22 pump houses, of which the MEIL built 15. We set a new world record by installing six machines in the Medigadda pump house in less than ten months.
The company installed 12 machines in Medigadda barrage's Lakshmi pump house, 12 machines in the Annaram barrage's Saraswati pump house and 14 machines in Sundilla's Parvati pump house, and seven machines in Gayatri underground pump house. Four machines were installed in the Annapurna pump house, and four in Ranganayakasagar. As part of the Kondapochamma Sagar, two pump houses with six machines each were established at Akkaram and Markook.
The Mallannasagar Reservoir, built as part of this project, is the largest, with a capacity of 50 TMC ft. Eight machines were installed at the Mallannasagar reservoir pumping station, 18 machines were installed in two pump houses under the Kondam Cheruvu, and four machines each were installed in two different places.
KLIP will irrigate a total of 37.08 lakh acres and stabilize an ayacut of 18.82 lakh acres.
Remarkably, the Gayatri underground pump house in Package-8 operates at a daily capacity of 2 TMC ft. Thus, seven units with a total of 139 MW each were built. No other country in the world has a pumping station of this scale. The pump house is magnificent because it consumes 973 MW of electricity.
The KLIP was constructed in collaboration with experts and companies from Africa, Finland, Germany, China, and Japan. In partnership with BHEL, the MEIL installed motors and pumps in this project.
Going hand in hand
Along with Indian companies, international corporations such as Andritz, Crompton Greaves, Xylem, Siemens, MMT, Wärtsilä, Hilty, Atlas Copco, Normet, and Sandvik collaborated and provided motors, pumps, software and ancillaries.
Everyone involved in the project, whether an individual or a business, has given their all to ensure the success of the Kaleshwaram project. Indian behemoths such as GAIL, Tata, and Jindal, among others, supplied the raw materials. This massive project employed millions of tonnes of clay and concrete, thousands of vehicles and operators, and many more.
The company imported electromechanical equipment, pump components such as impellers, shafts, bearings, shaft seals, pump covers, other accessories, and motors from countries such as Austria, Germany, and Finland. The project, which will irrigate millions of acres in Telangana, imported machinery from various countries on a war footing without considering the cost involved.
It has drawn engineers from across the country. The entire Telangana Irrigation Department was fully involved, and the Chief Minister of the State, Mr K Chandrashekar Rao, regularly kept a close eye on the project. Workers came from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. Despite adverse climatic conditions, work continued round the clock, culminating in unveiling the world's largest lift irrigation project.
With the KLIP, the MEIL has demonstrated that it can put together and skillfully complete any project worldwide while maintaining high quality and standards.
Project Status: Completed