VIJAYAWADA: In a major sigh of relief for the residents of Krishna Lanka, the officials of irrigation, Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) and revenue department have completed a ground level survey to provide rehabilitation for the residents before commencing the second phase of retaining wall works along Krishna River bund for a length of 1,560 metres between Koti Nagar and Tarakarama Nagar.
Works in this regard will be taken up at a cost of Rs 122.90 crore and they are expected to be completed before the onset of next monsoon. Sources said around 50,000 people are residing in the downstream Prakasam Barrage. For the last few years, the low-lying areas such as Chalasani Nagar, Krishna Lanka, Geetha Nagar, Ranigarithota, Balaji Nagar, Dwaraka Nagar and Bramarambapuram have been getting inundated causing huge losses to the residents.
Taking a serious note of the issue, the previous government has completed the first phase of retaining wall works to a length of 2.28 km between Ramalingeswara Nagar and Koti Nagar. However, heavy inflows to River Krishna at Prakasam Barrage has inundated the localities that are not covered by the retaining wall forcing the authorities concerned to shift hundreds of families to the rehabilitation centres set up at Indira Gandhi Muncipal Corporation (IGMC) Stadium and Girls High School in Patamata.
VMC city planner A Lakshmana Rao said that in February, the State government sanctioned Rs 125 crore for the construction of second phase of retaining wall along the Krishna River bund to prevent inundation of houses. “The irrigation department officials have given an alignment for the construction of the second phase of retaining wall. The contractor will collect samples for soil testing and acquire the required land soon,” he informed.