Irrigation sector set back 20 years under YSRC regime: Nimmala Ramanaidu

VIJAYAWADA: Water resources development minister Nimmala Ramanaidu said that during the previous YSRC government, the irrigation sector had gone back by 20 years and several projects, including Polavaram, had suffered major damages.

Participating in the 122nd birth anniversary celebrations of irrigation expert and Padma Bhushan awardee KL Rao in Vijayawada on Monday, he said that both irrigation and drinking water resources were completely neglected during the previous regime.

Paying floral tribute to the legendary irrigation engineer at KL Rao Ghat, the minister said Rao had advocated interlinking of rivers 50 years ago to solve drinking and irrigation woes. He found fault with the previous order which ignored the birth anniversary celebrations of Rao, who was the architect of Nagarjuna Sagar and Krishna Delta.

Delivering a eulogy for Rao’s contribution in various projects including gravity dams, arch dams, concrete dams, power plants and many others like Pulichintala, Ramanaidu said the services of the irrigation expert were not limited to the Telugu State, his genius could be seen in various irrigation and hydroelectric projects across the country.

Pointing out that soon after taking oath as chief minister, Chandrababu Naidu visited the Polavaram project to assess the situation and get the project back on track, “This shows our commitment to irrigation and agriculture sectors,” he said.

Ramanaidu said their government is committed to following Rao’s footsteps and ensuring that the state is secured in terms of drinking and irrigation water resources. He opined that if the government had not changed in 2019, Polavaram would have been completed by now as 72% of the project work had been completed by then.

“The reverse tender and change of contracting agencies led to a gap of 13 months, which proved costly. Experts from IIT Hyderabad have submitted a report on the project. We are moving ahead, resolving each issue as we go,” he said, adding that henceforth the birth anniversaries of Rao, Sir Arthur Cotton and Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya would be celebrated in a grand manner.

Members of Parliament from the Vijayawada Central Parliament Bonda Umamaheswara Rao and others were also present.