Handri-Neeva Sujala Sravanti (HNSS), the much awaited irrigation project, meant to irrigate around six lakh acres and provide drinking water to 33 lakh people in four Rayalaseema districts, is finally getting through its first phase.

Efforts are on to complete the first phase of HNSS works and give water for irrigation for the next kharif season in Kurnool and Anantapur districts, according to irrigation authorities.

In the first phase, the project was planned to give irrigation water to around 1.98 lakh acres in Kurnool and Anantapur districts.

For this, around 14 tmc ft water will be used from the Srisailam reservoir.

Canal works upto 216.30 kilometres from Srisailam reservoir to Jeedipalli in Anantapur district, are almost completed, and only four to five kilometres canal works are pending, said chief engineer, Mr Jalandhar, speaking to this newspaper on Sunday.

In all, eight balancing reservoirs will be built along the HNSS. Reservoir works are under progress in Krishnagiri, Pattikonda and Jeedipalli as part of the first phase.

Installation of 96 heavy pumping motors are underway at eight different places in Kurnool district.

To ensure uninterrupted power supply, an exclusive sub-station each is also built.

It is learnt that officials have made arrangements for uninterrupted power supply in advance. Each motor will pump around 300 cusecs a day.

According to irrigation experts, 700 cusecs of water is enough in the first phase for 70,000 acres in Kurnool district. So far, around Rs.2,000 crore was spent for the project out a total estimation of Rs.2,774 crore.

The trial run at Malyala, the starting point of the first phase, was successful, officials revealed, saying that they had only used one motor as availability of water was sparse.

Though officials expressed confidence of water for the next kharif, farmers recall that this was said several times in the past and never materialised.