VIJAYAWADA:Minister for Mines, Minerals, and Excise Kollu Ravindra has pledged that the NDA government will ensure irrigation water reaches the tail-end lands of the Krishna Delta. Speaking at an irrigation advisory meeting for Krishna district in Machilipatnam on Tuesday, Ravindra, alongside MLAs Mandali Buddha Prasad, Kagitha Krishna Prasad, Kamineni Srinivas, and VK Raja, committed to addressing the district’s agricultural issues.
Ravindra criticized the previous YSRC government, noting that the Pattiseema project was neglected, with maintenance such as greasing the gates being ignored. He also mentioned that the Pulichintala project faced difficulties, but since Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu returned to power, the state has experienced ample rainfall, filling reservoirs and benefiting farmers.
The minister assured farmers that he would present the Krishna Delta’s issues at the next cabinet meeting. He pointed out that, under the previous government, Krishna district struggled with water shortages, including a significant shortfall at Pulichintala where only 0.8 TMC of the expected 40 TMC was maintained. Srisailam faced similar issues, and water user associations’ bills remained unpaid.
The irrigation advisory committee has resolved to request the State government to release 10 TMC of water from the Nagarjuna Sagar project to Pulichintala. They also proposed relocating the KRMB head office from Vizag to Vijayawada as per the AP Reorganisation Act 2014. Additionally, the committee suggested appointing lashkars in the Krishna Delta on a contract basis and requested the state government to allocate Rs 31.10 crore to connect the Eluru Canal with the Polavaram Right Main Canal in the Gannavaram Assembly constituency.