BALLARI: Ballari district in-charge minister B Sriramulu’s plan to sleep at a site where a canal is being repaired near Ballari to speed up the works has now taken a political turn, with Congress MLA from Ballari Rural Nagendra too visiting the spot.
Sriramulu visited the BD Halli Vedavati river bridge construction site after residents complained about the delay in the work. Representatives of the company that has taken up the work told Sriramulu that the work would be completed within a fortnight. Sriramulu told them he will stay at the site till the work is over. He later performed a pujal, had food with workers and also slept at the spot.
“I am not putting pressure on anybody. During the recent rain, the bridge was damaged and the repair works are going on slowly. I am here to oversee the work and be with the workers,” Sriramulu said.
“If the work is delayed, it is not possible to provide water to the agricultural fields of Hagari village and surroundings. We are talking about standing crops in 3 lakh hectares where farmers are in dire need of water from the canal. I was awake past midnight on Tuesday and the work was going on,” he said.
“We will soon construct a new bridge and both Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh will bear the expenses. The total budget of the new bridge will be around Rs 400-500 crore. I hope that the CMs of both states will discuss the issue,” he added. Nagendra said the repair site is under his area and there was nothing political about his visit. “We hope farmers will benefit soon,” he added.