VIJAYAWADA: CPI State secretary K Ramakrishna on Sunday wrote a letter to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, seeking budgetary allocation for repairs of the Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS) and the Guru Raghavendra Lift Irrigation Scheme.
He said both the projects are vital to meet irrigation and drinking water needs of Kurnool district. In 2014, Naidu gave administrative sanction for the RDS Right Canal with an estimated cost of Rs 1,985.42 crore.
In the following years, works worth Rs 13 crore were executed. The previous YSRC regime had completely ignored the project and did not clear the pending bills, he mentioned.
The Guru Raghavendra Lift Irrigation Scheme was executed with an outlay of Rs 616 crore to provide water to 45,790 acres. However, unidentified miscreants damaged power transformers and panel boards of the pump house. Copper wire, coils and power oil worth crores were stolen, he said.
After the recent Tungabhadra dam crest gate washout, the government should realise the urgent need to take up repairs and maintenance works of irrigation schemes in the State, the CPI secretary said.