The ₹5,150-crore Veligonda irrigation project, the dream facility of the people of the drought-hit Prakasam district, is all set to pick up pace with the commencement of land survey for the construction of a head regulator at Kollamvagu near Srisailam.
Reaching the spot on Thursday after a long travel by boat on the Krishna and trekking, District Collector V. Vinay Chand inspected the survey works and said the project would be completed as per schedule in 2018. Tenders for carrying out the works had been finalised, he added.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu would lay the foundation stone for the head regulator works shortly, he said.
Water supply
The project had been designed to draw 43.58 tmc ft of flood waters from the Krishna to irrigate 4.47 lakh acres of land in Prakasam, Kadapa, and Nellore districts, and provide drinking water 15.25 lakh people in the fluoride-affected parts, he added.
The state government also planned to speed up the tunnel drilling works from the other side also to meet the 2018 deadline for completion of the first phase of the project.
The project, originally scheduled to be completed in 2008, suffered time and cost overruns in view of technical snags.