Guntur: Minister for water resources D. Umamaheswara Rao claimed that the state government succeeded to save Rs 2,500 crore worth crops by supplying irrigation water to 8 lakh acres through Pattiseema project. He came to Guntur on Saturday, visited the water resources office and addressed the press on the occasion.
He said Godavari water was going waste into the sea. So, the government decided to make good use of the water by diverting it into Krishna river, fulfilling the dream of Krishna-Godavari merger. Refuting allegations of opposition parties, he defended that Pattiseema project is the first of its kind project and the credit of merging rivers goes to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Mr Rao said that the government is keen to complete the Polavaram national project by the year 2018. He said that land acquisition for Polavaram right canal construction is the main hurdle for the project. He said that the government pacified the farmers to offer their lands by paying '700 crore as compensation.
After the successful linking of Godavari-Krishna rivers the government is now planning to link ponds in all districts of AP.
The government is monitoring water levels of Almatti, Jurala, Srisai-lam, Nagarjunasagar, Pulichintala and Praka-sam Barrage and taking action to store the water for Krishna Pushkaralu. Mr Umamaheswara Rao said that water would be stored in the Pulichintala project for Krishna Pushkaralu.
So, the public need not worry about the water availability. Ponnur MLA of Telugu Desam D. Narendra Kumar and irrigation officials participated in the programme.
