VIJAYAWADA: Godavari waters which entered Krishna district on Tuesday night, have reached Remalla village in Bapulapadu mandal, which is located 127 km from Thatipudi Lift Irrigation Scheme (TLIS).
Irrigation minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao announced that Godavari waters will be released into Krishna river to mark the birth anniversary of legendary engineer Mokshagundam Visweswarayya, celebrated as Engineer’s Day on September 15.
A seminar on ‘Interlinking of Rivers’ will be organised in Vijayawada to mark the historic moment, which will be attended by chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu. “Next day, he will release the waters from the first pump of the Pattiseema Lift irrigation Scheme into the Polavaram Main Right Canal (PMRC),” he said.
Earlier offering traditional harati at Pallerlamudi in Nuzvid mandal along with Eluru MP Maganti Babu and others, he said the state government had kept its promise by linking Godavari with Krishna, the first ever interlinking of two major rivers. Attributing this to CM Chandrababu Naidu, he explained how in just six months’ time, farmers, who had gone to court over PMRC, were convinced to part with their lands removing the hurdle for the canal. “Finally the long-cherished dream of the people of the state is getting realised,” he said.
Godavari water, released from TLIS a week ago, will be travelling through Seetharamapuram, Veleru, Remalle, Veeravalli, Rangannagudem, Suravaram, Bandarugudem, Balliparru, Tempalli, Veerapanenigudem, Kothagudem, Chikkavaram, Gollanapalli, Gopavarigudem, Surampalli, Nunna, Ambapuram, P Nainavaram, Kothuru Tadepalli to reach Budameru Diversion Channel at Velagaleru, where it will merge with Krishna river.
Celebrations Premature: Cong
Meanwhile, Congress leaders Kolanukonda Sivaji and Malladi Vishnu, who visited PMRC at Nunna of Vijayawada Rural mandal and Surampalli in Gannavaram mandal, claimed that PMRC works between the two villages, which is about two km length are incomplete. They pointed to a culvert, where the bund constructed on the canal for the bridge was not removed.