Tank restoration project named Mission Kakatiya

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao christened his pet Tank Restoration Project as 'Mission Kakatiya'. The tagline of the mission will be Mana Vooru- Mana Cheruvu (Our Village- Our Tank).

The decision was taken at a high level review meeting held by the CM. Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao, government advisor Vidyasagar Rao, Irrigation department principal secretary SK Joshi and other officials attended the meeting.

Speaking on the occasion, the CM said that he had decided to name the prestigious project after the Kakatiya rulers as they played a crucial role in construction of tanks in the state. 'We all should be indebted to the Kakatiya rulers.

They constructed thousands of tanks to turn the Telangana region into a fertile area. It is the duty of the state government to remember the great rulers,' he said.

The CM asked the officials to take steps on a war footing to restore 45,000 tanks of Telangana State. He called upon all the people of Telangana to take part in the prestigious programme and emulate the efforts made by the Kakatiyas.

KCR directed the officials to begin the tank restoration works from the third week of December and complete the first phase works by the end of May, 2015. He instructed the officials to make prompt online payments to all contractors without causing any delay.

Adding that all tanks should be restored in five years' time, the CM asked officials to be ready with simultaneous plans to take up the second phase works from December next year.

Noting that the Kakatiyas constructed tanks with a long vision, KCR alleged that all the tanks of the Telangana region were ignored during the autocratic rule of the Seemandhra leaders in the erstwhile combined AP state.

He said that the tanks being restored by the state government should turn into excellent water bodies and become a source of livelihood to fishermen and washermen community of the state.

He added that the tanks should also play a vital role in increasing the ground water levels in all the areas of the state. Noting that most of the farmers depend on tanks for their agricultural needs, KCR said that it was the responsibility of one and all to conserve the tanks of the state.

The CM said that all public representatives of the state including him would do a day long Shramadanam to highlight the importance of the tanks and their restoration.

He urged the people to celebrate the programme as a festival in all the villages while adding that no state government in the entire country spent so much money on the restoration of the tanks. KCR also reviewed the status of Palamuru lift irrigation scheme on the occasion. He studied the survey reports related to the project and held discussions with the officials on how to execute the project.