A mission to quench Telangana’s thirst

On August 7, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid his first official visit to the state of Telangana. During the visit, he launched the flagship mission of the Telangana state government water project, Bhagiratha, in the Gajwel district.

The mission of this gigantic project is to supply clean and drinkable water to all rural homes in Telangana. The Rs 35 billion project covers pipeline connections laid over a 26 thousand lakh kilometer stretch. The government has initially sanctioned 4 billion rupees for the 2015-2016 fiscal year. The project was designed by Panchayat raj, Department of Rural Development and Rural Water Supply. According to the project design, each person in the rural village will receive 100 liters of water. The individual in urban areas will receive 150 liters of water supply. The project emphasizes addressing the drought and fluorosis crisis in rural Telangana. The project covers 25,000 rural habitats along with 67 urban habitats.

The Mission Bhagiratha concept

For now, Telangana’s water network relies on available water resources from the two perennial rivers that flow through the state; Krishna and the Godavari. The plan of the water network is to use 34 TMC of Godavari water and 21.5 TMC of Krishna water. The project also includes the channeling of Srisailam water resources, the Sriram Sagar project, the Komuram Bheem project, the Jurala dam, the Paleru reservoir and the Nizam Sagar project. The statewide network project is scientifically designed to use the natural gradient whenever possible and pump water to the 26 internal networks that supply the water through the pipes. The project has the main trunk pipelines covering a distance of approximately 5000 km. Another 50,000 km will be used to fill service tanks in local habitats for storage. An additional 75,000 km pipeline network will supply drinking water to village houses.

Mission Flouride

Telangana is a newly formed state with its share of milling problems. Drinking water continues to be a major problem for the rural population of the state. People, particularly in rural areas, were forced to consume groundwater that has high levels of fluoride. A recent survey revealed that most of the districts in Telangana, except Hyderabad, have groundwater that contains the allowable levels of fluoride presence. The Bhagiratha project will be a long-awaited freshwater jet for the people of Telangana pumping clean water from the Krishna and Godavari rivers through the water network project. The government has ensured that the project covers all areas affected by fluorosis by ensuring adequate water connections. Telangana was one of the states that suffered a severe drought. Large-scale water supply will solve drought problems in all major agricultural belts.

Smart water network

The gigantic Water Grid project will utilize the nation’s inspiring groundbreaking technology. The project survey will be carried out using advanced light sensing and range technology. Hydraulic modeling software is used to determine pipe specifications.

The Telangana state government is adopting international standards to execute the gigantic project. By inducing technology, the government wants to improve coordination and focus on optimizing human resources. The government will follow the turnkey project, which means that the organizations that are executing the projects are also responsible for maintenance.

Once the project is completed, more than 140 villages are expected to have a solution to the water shortage. The Bhagiratha mission is a revolutionary project that will ensure that the state of Telangana is a state free from fluorosis and drought.