NANDYALL: Srisailam reservoir brimming with steady inflows in July itself is an indication of good days for Rayalaseema region, observed Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu during his visit to the irrigation project on Thursday.
After giving ‘Jala Harati’ to River Krishna, which was gushing from 10 gates of the spillway at the Srisailam project, Naidu said people have blessed him and his coalition in the elections, and now Lord Mallikarjuna Swamy has blessed the State with good rains and steady inflows.
Stating that water is the most vital element for wealth creation, he said, “Once we address the water problem permanently and create irrigation resources, the State will have no food security issues. Our goal is to provide irrigation water to every acre in the State. I promise to transform Rayalaseema into Rathanalaseema (heaven of wealth).”
Recalling the efforts taken by former chief minister NT Rama Rao, Naidu said, “Our party founder NT Rama Rao had initiated first steps to make Rayalaseema drought-resistant, and started many irrigation projects in that direction. It was him, who made it clear that Telugu Ganga water will quench the thirst of Rayalaseema first and only then will go to Chennai.”
Elaborating, the Chief Minister asserted that agro-based and food processing industries can be set up with every acre of land under irrigation and added that economic prosperity can be achieved with existing infrastructure and available power.
Drawing a comparison between the previous YSRC government and TDP-led NDA regime during 2014-19 period, Naidu pointed out, “We spent Rs 69,000 crore in five years for the development of irrigation in the State, while the previous government had only spent a mere Rs 19,000 crore.”
According to CM Naidu, as against Rs 5,520 crore spent by the previous TDP government on Handri Neeva Sujala Sravanthi (HNSS) in five years, the YSRC government had spent only Rs 515 crore. Similarly, his government spent Rs 2,056 crore on Galeru Nagari Sujala Sravanthi Project (GNSS) during the previous tenure, but the YSRC government had spent a mere Rs 448 crore. “In Rayalaseema, my government had spent Rs 12,000 crore during 2014-19 on irrigation, while the YSRC government spent only Rs 2,011 crore,” he said.
Interacting with the representatives of the Water Users Association of Sunnipenta, CM Naidu promised to make Andhra Pradesh number one State in the country and sought people’s cooperation for the same.
Earlier in the day, CM Chandrababu Naidu had darshan of Lord Mallikarjuna Swamy and Goddess Bhramaramba in Srisailam. The temple priests and officials accorded him a traditional welcome. On the occasion, CM Naidu promised to promote Srisailam as a focal point for spirituality.
