VIJAYAWADA: The NDA government is determined to ensure the tail-end hamlet of the Krishna Delta receives irrigation water, said Minister for Mines, Minerals, and Excise Kollu Ravindra.
Participating in the irrigation advisory meeting for Krishna district at Machilipatnam on Tuesday, along with MLAs Mandali Buddha Prasad, Kagitha Krishna Prasad, Kamineni Srinivas, and VK Raja, he vowed to solve the problems of farmers in the district.
Ravindra stated that during the previous YSRC government’s five-year tenure, the pumps of Pattiseema were neglected, and not even grease was applied to the gates of the project.
“The Pulichintala project was pushed into trouble. Only after our CM N Chandrababu Naidu returned to power, the State witnessed an abundance of rains, with reservoirs filling to the brim, cheering up farmers,” he said.
The minister assured farmers that he would bring up the issues of the Krishna Delta at the next cabinet meeting.
“In the last five years, due to the negligence of the previous government, Krishna district even struggled to get drinking water. Though 40 TMC of water was supposed to be stored at Pulichintala, only 0.8 TMC was maintained. The situation with Srisailam was no different. Even water user associations’ bills were not cleared,” he said.
The irrigation advisory committee resolved to request the State government to release 10 TMC of water from the Nagarjuna Sagar project to the Pulichintala project. It was also resolved to relocate the KRMB head office from Vizag to Vijayawada following the AP Reorganisation Act 2014. Additionally, the committee resolved to appoint lashkars in the Krishna Delta on a contract basis and to request the state government to sanction Rs 31.10 crore to link the Eluru Canal with the Polavaram Right Main Canal in the Gannavaram Assembly constituency.