VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy laid foundation for three reservoirs on Wednesday as a part of the Upper Pennar Project to provide irrigation water to 75,000 acres and drinking water to several villages in drought-hit Anantapur district. The government has named the project Dr YSR Upper Pennar Project with the three reservoirs coming up in Muttala, Thopudurthi and Devarakonda of the district.
The Chief Minister unveiled the pylon for the foundation-laying programme via virtual link from his camp office in Tadepalli. Speaking on the occasion, Jagan said, “We are taking up three reservoirs to cater to the irrigation needs of 75,000 acres and drinking water needs of several villages. Through Handri - Neeva Sujala Sravanthi (HNSS), our government aims to provide irrigation water to 6.03 lakh acres and drinking water to 33 lakh people.
On January 24, 2018, the previous government had given sanction for the reservoirs at `803 crore, but didn’t take up the works. Usually, the project cost goes up in three years. But, our government has increased the scope of the project by adding two more reservoirs with an additional capacity of 3.3 TMC at the same cost. This is a testament of how our government is curbing corruption.”
In addition to the 1.81 TMC capacity Upper Pennar Reservoir, a 2.02 TMC capacity reservoir at Muttaa, 0.992 TMC reservoir at Thopudurthi and 0.89 TMC reservoir at Devarakonda, and 1.5 TMC capacity reservoir in Somaravandlapalli will be coming up, the Chief Minister noted.
He added that water would be lifted from Jeedipalli Reservoir to Upper Pennar reservoir through main canals of Muttala, Thopudurthi, Devarakonda and Somaravandlapalli reservoirs of the upper Pennar reservoir. “About 5,176 acres of land has to be acquired for the project. Water from Jeedipalli Reservoir, a part of HNSS, will be lifted via the main canal of 53.45 KM. Four lifts and 110 concrete works will be taken up under this project. Four lift irrigation projects would be coming up at Kottapalli, Atmakur, Bala Venkatapuram, Maddalacheruvu,” the Chief Minister explained.
In 90 days, about 7.216 TMC of water will be filled in the five reservoirs to irrigate 75,000 acres in Beluguppa, Kudair, Atmakur, Kambadur, Kanaganapalli, Chennekothapalli, Raptadu and Ramagiri mandals. When Rapthadu MLA Thopudurthy Prakash Reddy requested Jagan to name the project after former CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy, the Chief Minister said that the department has issued an order already naming it ‘Dr YSR Upper Pennar Project’.
Ministers Botcha Satyanarayana, M Sankar Narayana, S Appalaraju, MP Gorantla Madhav, MLA T Prakash Reddy and MLC Iqbal were present at the event held at Venkatampalli of Kothapalli mandal in Anantapur district.