While Prime Minister Modi and CM Chandrababu Naidu have been initiating the interlinking of rivers presently, AP Water Resources Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu recalled that it was former union minister KL Rao who initiated the interlinking of rivers 50 years ago.
Minister Nimmala paid tribute to KL Rao’s portrait on the occasion of the 124th birth anniversary of renowned engineer Dr. KL Rao. He made it clear that interlinking of rivers is the way to overcome the famine conditions caused by drought. He said that PM Modi and CM Chandrababu are continuing the inspiration of KL Rao.
He recalled that KL Rao had initiated the construction of the largest projects in the country, including Nagarjuna Sagar, Srisailam and Hirakud. He praised the fact that renowned engineer KL Rao is a Telugu and is a matter of pride. He said that Chandrababu is constructing the Polavaram project so that 3,000 TMC of flood water does not flow into the sea every year.
He was furious that the Polavaram project was destroyed during the previous YSRCP government and said that the coalition government had put the questionable Polavaram project forward. He made it clear that the coalition government’s goal is to complete the Polavaram project by December 2027.
Nimmala recalled that Jaganmohan Reddy had previously mocked him in the Legislative Assembly by saying that it was not Pattiseema, but Vattiseeema. He revealed that the Krishna Delta is becoming green with the completion of Pattiseema with Chandrababu’s hard work and perseverance.
He said that the Krishna Delta did not receive as much rain as expected this year. He said that even though the upper projects are not filled, the Krishna Delta is flourishing with Pattiseema water. He said that the Krishnamma, which flows blue in Vijayawada, has turned red after it meets the Godaramma. He criticized the previous YSRCP government for being extremely negligent on irrigation projects.
The Minister expressed anger that the previous government did not even grease the gates of the irrigation projects. He said that the Pulichintala gates were washed away in the past due to lack of minimum maintenance. He said that after the coalition government came to power, funds were provided for the maintenance and repair of irrigation projects.
Nimmala said that the goal is to bring water to North Andhra through Polavaram this year. He said that the canals were widened within a year to increase the flow of Handreeniva from 2100 cusecs to 3850 cusecs.
