VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu asserted that he will put all efforts to complete the Polavaram project at the earliest. “Interlinking of rivers is the only solution to overcome the water crisis and hence, I took up the linking of Godavari and Krishna rivers through Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (PLIS) and now making efforts to link Godavari with Pennar rivers,’’ said Naidu.
Participating in the short discussion on Pattiseema project in the AP Legislative Assembly on Friday, he said that the State Government has been criticised by opposition parties and by several other quarters for taking up PLIS. “Some leaders even announced to take political `Sanyas’ if the government completes the project in a year and resorted to different tactics including approaching courts and preventing farmers from giving their lands for the construction of canals.
But, the State government completed the project in record time and protected the crops in Krishna delta and is even providing water to Rayalaseema,’’ he said. Stating that Pattiseema lift irrigation has helped in saving paddy crops worth `2,500 crore during 2015- 16, `5,500 crore in 2016-17 and `6,000 crore during 2017-18 alone, he said that PLIS has contributed a lot to the growth in aquaculture. On the occasion, he congratulated Gannavaram and Denduluru MLAs Vallabhaneni Vamsi and Chintamaneni Prabhakar for their cooperation in the land acquisition process. Describing the Pattiseema as the first victory in interlinking of rivers, Naidu said that the State Government has been giving top priority to agriculture and irrigation projects.
As a result of providing water to Krishna delta through PLIS, the government has succeeded in releasing the required water to Rayalaseema and that Anantapur would be developed as a horticulture hub, he added. Stating that water would be given to East Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam district through Polavaram left main canal, the Chief Minister said that all the members of the Legislative Assembly will be taken to the Polavaram project site on November 16 and 17 to make them realize the importance of the project and to show its progress.
“The government has set a target to attain 15 per cent sustainable growth and that would be possible only by providing water security to all regions of the State,’’ Naidu said. Praise for Naidu’s vision After Minister for Water Resources Devineni Umamaheswara Rao explained how water pumped through PLIS has irrigated 13.08 lakh acres of land so far this year, members of the ruling TDP showered praises on Naidu’s vision for taking up the project.
