Eco-tourism, health tourism and similar such activities is flourishing tourism in the state. Now, the state government’s prestigious Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) is all set to be the new icon for Telangana’s “development tourism.”
A large number of farmers, students, teachers and public throng daily to the project site to witness the development. In fact, citizens hire tractors, taxis and even buses privately to visit the site.
Most say since they did not witness the construction of Nagarjuna Sagar Project, they did not want to miss Kaleshwaram’s construction before it releases water. “If the water is released, we cannot look inside the huge tunnels and see the actual size of the barrages,” said farmers and teachers.
With the increase in visitors in the summer, the state government has engaged an engineer for addressing the masses. “I have asked an engineer to not engage in construction. The engineer is given a megaphone. Through the megaphone, he explains the features of Kaleshwaram to the public,” Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao said.
Official sources said private vehicles of the public are not allowed inside the tunnels for security. Only the vehicles of VIPs can pass through the tunnels. The movement of citizens are restricted to some areas of the project.
Officials had plans to develop the Kaleshwaram project sites as tourist spots after the completion of all the barrages and structures. The State government planned construction of roads and guesthouses to the project sites. “The development tourism and spiritual tourism will go hand in hand at Kaleshwaram as visitors are also preferring to visit Kaleshwara Muktheswara temple,” an official said. #KhabarLive
