Veligonda project will be dedicated to nation on September 1, says Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has said the first phase of the Veligonda project will be dedicated to the nation on September 1
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has said the first phase of the Veligonda project will be dedicated to the nation on September 1, and has blamed the previous YSRCP government for the irregularities that hampered the project. Naidu was speaking after paying tributes to eminent engineer K.L. Rao on the occasion of his 124th birth anniversary and offering ‘Jala Harati’at the Pavitra Sangamam, the confluence of the Godavari and Krishna rivers, at Ibrahimpatnam here on Wednesday. The Chief Minister pointed out that he had laid the foundation for this project way back in 1996, while commenting thatat least 2,000 tmc ft of Godavari river water flows into the sea every year on an average and it was a colossal waste.
By linking the Godavari river with the Krishna, irrigation facilities could be provided for lakhs of acres, the Chief Minister noted, while recalling that K.L. Rao had proposed the interlinking of Godavari and Cauvery rivers decades ago, and the Vajpayee government at the Centre had set up a task force for linking the Ganga and Cauvery rivers. Pattiseema Naidu said the TDP government, in 2014-19, had brought the Godavari water to the Krishna by constructing the Pattiseema project. The government planned to make the Rayalaseema region fertile by taking the Godavari water there, for which steps were being taken, he said.
By diverting the Godavari water to the Krishna delta via Pattiseema, the government saved water in Srisailam, he observed, expressing his resolve to provide water to every acre in the State. Naidu said in 2014–19, the TDP government had spent ₹68,000 crore on the irrigation sector and nearly ₹24,000 crore in the last two years. He said, as on date, 89% of the Polavaram project construction had been completed and it was poised to be dedicated to the nation by March 2027. The coalition government would complete 36 priority projects in the next three years, he added.
The event was attended by K.L. Rao’s son, K.L. Vijay Rao, and Ministers Nimmala Ramanaidu, Y. Satya Kumar and Anagani Satya Prasad.
The BriefWire