VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will lay the foundation for the works related to widening and strengthening of Krishna River flood bank (Karakatta) road near Prakasam Barrage at 10.25 am on Wednesday. The works include widening of 15.25 km stretch from Kondaveeti Vagu lift irrigation scheme near the barrage to Rayapudi to make a double lane road, including a two-lane bridge with footpaths with an estimated cost of Rs 150 crore.
The widening of the flood bank road will help in improving the connectivity to Amaravati, which houses the secretariat, High Court and other offices for both the public and VIPs, the officials said. They added that strengthening works are being taken up as about eight lakh cusecs of flood water was discharged through Prakasam Barrage in 2019 and 2020, weakening the existing flood bank.
“The double lane road will connect the N1 Road to N13 Road with Amaravati Seed Access Road from Undavalli to Rayapudi and six-laning of Vijayawada bypass from Gollapudi to Chinnakakani, including a major bridge across River Krishna. The widening and of Krishna river flood bund will facilitate easy access to the secretariat and High Court and also the transportation of agricultural products from the surrounding villages of Tadepalli and Thullur mandals. The strengthening of the bund road will protect the existing flood bank from erosion and also prevent inundation of surrounding villages during floods,” the officials explained.
The villages that usually get inundated during floods include Undavalli, Penumaka in Tadepalli mandal, Venkatapalem, Mandadam, Uddandrayunipalem, Lingayapaem and Rayapudi in Thullur mandal. The footpaths to be laid on either side of the bund road will help pedestrian to walk safely without any inconvenience even during traffic, the officials noted.
According to information, water resources department will take up the project with Amaravati Smart and Sustainable City Corporation Ltd’s funds. Besides widening of the road, renovation of Kondaveeti Vagu bridge, construction of Venkatayapalem-Rayapudi outfall sluice and flood monitoring centres will also be built. The works will be taken up by water resources department with Amaravati Smart and Sustainable Corporation Ltd’s funds.