RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM/ELURU: Declaring that the Polavaram Irrigation Project will be dedicated to the nation next year, BJP State president P.V.N. Madhav, Union Minister of State for Steel and Heavy Industries Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma, Rajahmundry MP Daggubati Purandeswari and MLC Somu Veerraju on Thursday flagged off a mega rally from Rajamahendravaram to the project site via Seethanagaram and Purushottapatnam.
Thousands of BJP workers from across AP participated in the rally, which comprised hundreds of vehicles. Before flagging off the procession, the leaders, accompanied by State Health Minister Y. Satya Kumar Yadav, BJP MLAs and senior party functionaries, said the Centre had so far spent nearly RS 21,000 crore on the national project and had, in principle, agreed to provide another Rs 12,000 crore this year to expedite the remaining works.
Describing Polavaram as the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh, the leaders said the NDA government had accorded top priority to its completion. They said the first phase of the project up to the 41.15-metre contour level would be completed next year, enabling storage of nearly 95 TMC of water. They also announced that the irrigation tunnel would be completed within a month and expressed confidence that water would be released through left canal.
The BJP leaders alleged that the project had suffered major delays between 2019 and 2024 due to the previous YSRCP government’s ‘reverse tendering’ policy. They said the Centre had constituted the Polavaram Project Authority to ensure faster execution.