Priority To North Andhra Water Projects: Ramanaidu

Vijayawada:Water Resources Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu has said said the drinking and irrigation water issues plaguing north Andhra would be solved on a priority basis,

He said, “The state government is prioritising the completion of pending projects. Following the chief minister’s directives, efforts are under way to expedite stalled irrigation projects that were aimed at supplying water for both agricultural and drinking purposes in north Andhra.”

The chief minister would conduct a special review meeting next week to discuss the significance and progress of these crucial projects.

The minister held a review meeting on Thursday at Vijayawada on the north Andhra projects. He said, “During the 2014-2019 term, several important projects for the region were not only sanctioned but also largely completed. The next government neglected these projects.”

Among these projects were the Vamsadhara Stage-II and Phase-II and the Totapalli Barrage, where 90 per cent of the work was left incomplete by the YSRC government, he said.

The present government, he said, is committed to resuming and completing all the pending projects. This would ensure an end to the drinking and irrigation water crisis in north Andhra.

The review also covered the remaining works on the Vamsadhara-Nagavali and Nagavali-Champavati interlinking. The minister inquired about the current status of these works from officials. Details regarding the swift completion of works at the Heermandalam Lift, Madhuwalasa Stage-II and Janjavati reservoir were also discussed.

Ramanaidu sought information as regards the delays to the completion of several reservoirs, such as the Andra Reservoir, Raivada, Pedda Kallam, Peddagadda and Vattigadda, despite these being funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JAICA).

Irrigation adviser Venkateswar Rao, engineering chief Narasimha Murthy and other senior officials were present.