On February 13, the Telangana government headed by new chief minister A.Revanth Reddy took all its ministers and legislators on a 'study tour' of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS). Located in the state's north, on its border with Maharashtra, KLIS had been a pet project of the previous chief minister, K. Chandrashekar Rao or KCR. Launched in KCR's first term as CM, in 2014, it was meant to end the water woes of the semi-arid regions of the state. Except that it is turning out to be a Rs 1.5 lakh crore white elephant that might well fall short of delivering what KCR had promised. The February 13 expedition was for the government team to assess for itself the quality of work undertaken on the project so far.
Two days later, a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) revealed that the final cost of the KLIS project could exceed Rs 1.47 lakh crore as against the Rs 81,911 crore projected to the Central Water Commission (CWC). The possibility of undue benefit of at least Rs 2,684.7 crore to the contractors' was not ruled out either. "We will expose how the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government of KCR wasted over Rs 1 lakh crore," declared Revanth Reddy.
KLIS has been plagued by a series of structural failures at its three main reservoirs-Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla. After the change of regime in Telangana, there have also been incidents of files going missing or getting destroyed at a KLIS office. That, and the non-cooperation of some project engineers in submitting information, have pushed the current Congress government to act swiftly on the issue. The KLIS project had suffered two major setbacks in the past two years. First, two of its pumphouses linked to the Medigadda and Annaram barrages went under in the Godavari floods in July 2022.
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Denne historien er fra March 04, 2024-utgaven av India Today.
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He gave the beat to the world
He would pick up the rhythms of each experience of mobility and weave them into his taals. Thus it was that he reflected joy and laughter in rhythmic cycles...such was the magic of Zakir's fingersText and photographs by Raghu Rai
KERALA TOURISM CAMPAIGN, 1989 - TICKETS TO PARADISE
All it took was a catchy tagline-'God's Own Country'-for the world to discover Kerala's wealth of natural beauty. It remains among the best tourism ad campaigns, earning the state a place among top 10 international destinations
SPIRITUALITY - THE GURUS OF COOL
Among the cult Indian gurus, no one had a bigger hold on western minds than 'Osho' Rajneesh. He's also perhaps the role model for the enterprise-building gurus of today
RETAIL SHOPPING - THE MALL MANIA
Shopping malls, a 1990s innovation in India, changed the way the Indian middle class shops. Their success now lies in being 'shoppertainment' destinations, offering something for everyone
CULINARY RENAISSANCE, 1978 - TANDOORI NIGHTS
ITC's Bukhara and Dum Pukht turned the world to tandoori cuisine and had an enormous impact on the F&B industry. Decades on, they are still a pit-stop for celebrities and heads of state visiting Delhi
INDIAN WRITING IN ENGLISH - REVENGE OF THE NATIVE
Rushdie lit the way but Indian writing in English has taken a life of its own in the past few decades, with translated Indian fiction most recently having its moment in the sun
INDIAN ART - A BRUSH WITH GOLD DUST
The 1990s economic liberalisation came as oxygen, lighting up the Indian art scene. Today, artworks by established masters routinely go for astronomical amounts
FESTIVAL OF INDIA, 1982 - CULTURE CAPITAL
The Festival of India grew into a symbol of our 'soft power', introducing our art and aesthetics to a global audience while also helping rebrand our domestic products
THE INDIPOP TREND - DISCO GOES DESI
For ages, the film song ruled. Nothing else was audible. Then came Nazia, charioteered by Biddu, and Indian ears went into a pleasant madness. Literally, Disco Deewane. A whole genre was born
SHOLAY 1975 - THE BIRTH OF THE FANDEMIC
India had seen hits before. But Sholay seared into its collective psyche like a badland bullet. The effect was on a scale never seen before- one film creating a new mass folk culture. And a trail of monster blockbusters that still continues
