Vemireddy Couple Meet Amit Shah, Seek ₹331-Crore Plan to Protect Penna Bunds
Amit Shah responded positively and assured support through national disaster management mechanisms to strengthen the Penna bunds and protect the ashram
NELLORE: Nellore MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy and Kovur MLA Vemireddy Prasanthi Reddy on Wednesday met Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, seeking urgent measures to strengthen the Penna river bunds and protect the historic Gandhi Ashram at Pallipadu near Nellore.
The leaders submitted a report detailing the damage caused by the 2021 floods, when heavy discharge from the Somasila reservoir led to breaches in the Penna embankments. Mandals such as Buchireddypalem, Kovur, Indukurpet and Vidavalur were inundated, disrupting normal life.
They highlighted the threat to the Pinakini Satyagraha (Gandhi) Ashram, where nearly seven acres were eroded, and flagged damage to a national highway stretch near Padugupadu, apart from losses to agriculture and aquaculture.
Thousands of acres of paddy fields were submerged, aqua ponds were destroyed and several villages were cut off, they said, stressing the need for permanent measures.
The leaders proposed a ₹167-crore protection wall along the right side of the Penna from the Gandhi Ashram to Pallipadu, modernisation of the left bund from Mudivarthi to Utukuru at a cost of ₹95 crore, and strengthening of vulnerable embankments in Indukurpet mandal with an estimated ₹69 crore outlay.
Amit Shah responded positively and assured support through national disaster management mechanisms to strengthen the Penna bunds and protect the ashram.