India’s First River Diversion Completed in One Year

PRESS RELEASE

India’s First River Diversion Completed in One Year

July 6, 2016 (EIRNS)—Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu today released water into the Polavaram Right Main Canal (PRMC) through the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (PLIS), interlinking the Godavari and Krishna Rivers in West Godavari district, PTI reported today. The project was completed in one year’s time.

The highlights of the project are:

’Surplus floodwater of more than 300 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) which is now discharged into the sea will be used to green the lands;
’Through the PLIS, the government will divert 80 TMC of Godavari River water to the Krishna River;
’24 pumps have been erected to pump water into the PRMC;
’Besides irrigating 530,000 hectares in Krishna and West Godavari districts, the water released from the project will also stabilize the Krishna’s Delta area served by irrigational canals.

The Godavari is the second-longest river in India after the River Ganges, having its source at Maharashtra in the West. It flows east 910 miles before emptying into Bay of Bengal. The Godavari and The Krishna are both called Peninsular rivers, and their interlinking is the first of India’s proposed 30 river-interlinking projects. Two other inter-linking projects are presently in progress.