VIJAYAWADA: TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu alleged that Rayalaseema had become a victim of the foolishness and inefficiency of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. As part of his ongoing visit to irrigation projects, Naidu went to Anantapur on Thursday and made a PowerPoint presentation on the irrigation projects in the district.
Jagan had preclosed 102 projects in Rayalaseema, including 38 in the Anantapur district alone. Though Anantapur did not get adequate rainfall this season, the State government has not switched on Pattiseema and Handri-Neeva schemes, he observed.
Of the total 47.20 lakh acres of agricultural land in Anantapur district, the land fit for cultivation is only 11.79 lakh acres and of it, a mere 1.39 lakh acres of land got an irrigation facility. Farmers are totally dependent on irrigation water from the Pennar and Krishna basins. “If the entire land gets proper irrigation facility, the whole Anantapur will turn into a horticulture hub,” Naidu opined.
Asserting that he will transform Rayalaseema into a fertile region, Naidu felt that if the region is linked to cities like Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad, agriculture and industrial sectors will progress well. Naidu also visited the Kia plant and issued a selfie challenge to Jagan, saying, “I brought Kia, you brought mafia.”