Polavaram works will be expedited, says Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu

VIJAYAWADA: Stating that the Polavaram project works need to be expedited, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has said that the Central government needs to extend more support to finish the project as per schedule. He said that the State government will get the pending bills cleared in time to ensure faster completion of works.

Speaking at the celebrations held at Durga Ghat commemorating the 60 years of Prakasam Barrage on Friday, the Chief Minister said he would not sleep until Polavaram project is completed. “Completing Polavaram project is my life ambition.

I initially wanted to provide water through gravity by June, 2018. But it got delayed due to various reasons. When problems cropped up, I stood my ground and negotiated with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. The Union government is being supportive, but there is a need for more cooperation,” he said.
He said that the State government is giving utmost importance to water resource projects. He also said that interlinking of rivers in the State will solve all the water issues. 

“Once the rivers are interlinked, we can use lifting schemes and other mechanisms to divert water to any part of the State from any project,” he remarked.Chandrababu Naidu earlier lauded the efforts of Sir Arthur Cotton and Charles Orr, who conceived and constructed the anicut on River Krishna. He said that they had pursued the project even though the British was not keen on it. 

“The farmers in this region progressed only after the project was built, thanks to the vision of great people like Sir Arthur Cotton and Charles Orr. Later, the then CM of the state Tanguturi Prakasam built the Barrage when the old anicut was breached,” he observed.Prior to the CM’s address, Water Resources Minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao said that all the pending projects including Veligonda, Handri-Neeva, Galeru-Nagari and others will be completed before 2019. 

“We are going to link Penna and Godavari rivers. A barrage on River Krishna at Vykuntapuram with a viaduct at Prakasam Barrage and lifting pumps can help in storing 300 tmcft of water in Somasila project,” he explained.Deputy Chief Minister Nimmakayala Chinarajappa, Deputy Speaker Mandali Buddha Prasad, local MLAs and MPs also attended the celebrations.

Quick bytes
The farmers in this region progressed only after the project was built, thanks to the vision of great people like Sir Arthur Cotton and Charles Orr
Once the rivers are interlinked, we can use lifting schemes and other mechanisms to divert water to any part of the State from any project
When problems cropped up, I stood my ground and negotiated with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. The Union government is being supportive, but there is a need for more cooperation