Pulichinthala Project

---

title: "Pulichinthala Project" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["dams-in-andhra-pradesh", "irrigation-in-andhra-pradesh", "2013-establishments-in-andhra-pradesh", "dams-completed-in-2013"] description: "Dam in Andhra Pradesh, India" topic_path: "general/dams-in-andhra-pradesh" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulichinthala_Project" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Dam in Andhra Pradesh, India ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox dam"]

Field	Value
name	Pulichintala Project
name_official	K.L Rao Sagar
image	File:Pulichintala Project.png
image_size	280px
image_caption	Pulichinthala Dam
location_map	India Andhra Pradesh
coordinates
country	India
location	Pulichintala village, Bellamkonda, Palnadu district, Andhra Pradesh
purpose	Irrigation & Water supply
construction_began	08 August 2009
opening	7 December 2013
cost	1850 crore rupees
owner	Government of Andhra Pradesh
operator	Andhra Pradesh
dam_crosses	Krishna River
dam_height	42.24 m
dam_length	2,922 m
dam_width_base	31 m
spillway_type	Controlled
spillway_capacity	10 lakh cusecs
res_name	Pulichinthala Reservoir
res_capacity_total	46 Tmcft
res_capacity_active	36.23 Tmcft
res_catchment	240,732 km2
res_surface	144 km2
plant_operator	APGENCO
plant_commission
plant_hydraulic_head	25 Meters
plant_turbines	4 × 30 MW Kaplan turbine
plant_capacity	120 MW
website
::

| name = Pulichintala Project | name_official = K.L Rao Sagar | image = File:Pulichintala Project.png | image_size = 280px | image_caption = Pulichinthala Dam | image_alt = | location_map = India Andhra Pradesh | location_map_size = | location_map_caption = | location_map_alt = | coordinates = | country = India | location = Pulichintala village, Bellamkonda, Palnadu district, Andhra Pradesh | purpose = Irrigation & Water supply | status = | construction_began = 08 August 2009 | opening = 7 December 2013 | cost = 1850 crore rupees | owner = Government of Andhra Pradesh | operator = Andhra Pradesh | dam_type = | dam_crosses = Krishna River | dam_height = 42.24 m | dam_length = 2,922 m | dam_elevation_crest = | dam_width_crest = | dam_width_base = 31 m | dam_volume = | spillway_count = | spillway_type = Controlled | spillway_capacity = 10 lakh cusecs | res_name = Pulichinthala Reservoir | res_capacity_total = 46 Tmcft | res_capacity_active = 36.23 Tmcft | res_capacity_inactive = | res_catchment = 240,732 km2 | res_surface = 144 km2 | res_max_length = | res_max_width = | res_max_depth = | res_elevation = | res_tidal_range = | plant_name = | plant_coordinates = | plant_operator = APGENCO | plant_commission = | plant_decommission = | plant_type = | plant_hydraulic_head = 25 Meters | plant_turbines = 4 × 30 MW Kaplan turbine | plant_capacity = 120 MW | plant_capacity_factor = | plant_annual_gen = | website = | extra = ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/KL_Rao_Sagar_Pulichinthala_Project_entrance.png" caption="Project entrance" alt="Dr. KL Rao Sagar Pulichinthala Project entrance"] ::

The Pulichintala Project is a multi-purpose water management project for irrigation, hydropower generation, and flood control in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, named after the prominent civil engineer, Kanuri Lakshmana Rao. It is a crucial irrigation facility for farmers in four coastal districts: West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Palanadu, and Prakasam, covering over 13 lakh acres. It has 24 gates and a balancing reservoir with a capacity of 46 Tmcft at 175 ft MSL full reservoir level (FRL).

History

In 1911, British engineer Col. Ellis proposed an irrigation project upstream of the Prakasam Barrage. At the time, the British government showed little interest in the proposition. Later, It was the first project to start under the ambitious Jalayagnam program in the year 2005. Financial tie-up commenced in 2009.

On 7 December 2013, the project was ready for a trial run, and it started impounding water in August 2014. It was fully completed in September 2018. The total cost of the project exceeded Rs.1850 crores.

Project

The irrigation facility is in the Pulichintala village, located in the Palnadu district near the Krishna River. It is between the Vykuntapuram barrage (near Amaravati) and the Nagarjuna Sagar dam. It has a 30 Tmcft live storage capacity to impound river floodwaters generated from the catchment area located downstream of Nagarjuna Sagar Tail Pond. The project reservoir provides a water supply to the downstream Prakasam Barrage that then can be sent out through the Pattiseema lift/Polavaram irrigation canal during monsoon months.

The Vellatur lift irrigation scheme (constructed near ), irrigates 13,000 acres in the Nalgonda district. It draws water from the Pulichintala reservoir. The lift can pump water from 120 ft MSL when the reservoir's gross storage is as low as 4 Tmcft. The proposed Yadadri Thermal Power Plant would also draw water from the reservoir.

Godavari Penna River Linking

Main article: Vykuntapuram barrage}}{{Confusing, section

The Godavari Penna River linking project was constructed to stabilize the existing irrigated area under the Nagarjuna Sagar right canal. The new lift would have greenfield alignment, and its first phase consists of five-step ladder pumping stages that transfer 7,000 cusecs of Godavari River water from Prakasam Barrage to deliver 73 Tmcft of Godavari water into the Nagarjuna Sagar right canal near Nekarikallu.

With FRL 25M the newly created Vykuntapuram Barrage pond will have backwaters beyond Pokkunuru up to the toe of the Pulichinthala Project. It is more economical to construct the first stage pump house to lift water from the Prakasam Barrage backwater into the newly created Vykuntapuram Barrage pond and the second Lift stage from the Vykuntapuram Barrage pond to the existing K.L Rao Sagar Pulichintala Project and later lift Stages from K.L Rao Sagar to Nagarjuna Sagar right canal. It will shorten the length of this lift project canal, Pressure Main and fewer lift stages and also enable to lift of water up to Srisailam Project via the existing Reversible Reverse turbine pump houses in Nagarjuna Sagar Dam and its tail pond project. It is even more economical if the construction of a new gravity canal from Ibrahimpatnam to Vykuntapuram Barrage pond to deliver the Polavaram right main canal/ Budameru diversion canal waters directly into the Vykuntapuram barrage pond since Polavaram right main canal level is 33 m MSL at Ambapuram hill near Vijayawada.

A low-level, lift canal from the Krishna river located near at 20 m MSL downstream of Pulichintala dam will be executed to feed Godavari water diverted from Polavaram Dam to some of the existing command area (situated below 60 m MSL) under Nagarjuna Sagar right bank canal to facilitate the extension of Nagarjuna Sagar right bank canal connecting Kandaleru feeder canal / Somasila Dam reservoir serving irrigation needs in Prakasam, Potti Sriramulu Nellore and Chittur districts including Chennai drinking water supply. A branch from this lift canal is also extended up to Pulichinthala dam (FRL 53.34 m MSL) to store Godavari water in Pulichintala reservoir during drought years and to irrigate lowlands along the Krishna river up to Pulichintala dam.

References

References

1. (12 January 2013). "K L Rao Sagar". Ap Irrigation Department.
2. "Status of Hydro Electric Projects under Execution for 12th Plan & beyond".
3. (2023-07-15). "'Father of Irrigation' K.L. Rao remembered on his 121st birth anniversary in Andhra University in Visakhapatnam". The Hindu.
4. "Pulichintala D06327".
5. Jonathan, P. Samuel. (2013-12-08). "Pulichantala dedicated to nation". The Hindu.
6. Rao, K. L.. (1978). "Cusecs Candidate: Memoirs of an Engineer". Metropolitan.
7. "Pulichintala project to water Prakasam barrage ayacut - Times of India".
8. "KLRao Sagar Pulichintala Project".
9. "Pulichintala project on August 15".
10. (16 August 2014). "Engineers complete trial run of Pulichintala Project".
11. "AP Govt Plans to Develop Pulichintala Project as Tourist Place {{!}} Pulichintala Project {{!}} AP24x7".
12. "Pulichintala project progress report, APGenCo".
13. Srinivas, Rajulapudi. (2019-02-14). "Naidu lays foundation stone for barrage across Krishna". The Hindu.
14. (27 June 2016). "KCR, Harish Rao lying on Pulichintala issue: Uttam".
15. (7 September 2016). "Pulichintala, a capital saviour".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::