Visakhapatnam: Telugu Desam (TD) state president Palla Srinivasa Rao, who is MLA from Gajuwaka, disclosed on Friday that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu aims to transform north Andhra through revival of the Sujala Sravanthi project to addresses the long-standing agrarian needs of the region.
The project involves filling up of Yeluru Reservoir with water from Polavaram Left canal and interlinking of Vamsadhara, Nagavali and Champavathi rivers.
Addressing media at the TD office in Gajuwaka, the TD state president said a two-year deadline has been set for completion of the project. It will irrigate 8 lakh acres of land and supply drinking water to nearly 30 lakh people.
He criticised the previous YSRC government for halting irrigation works, alleging that projects worth ₹17,000 crore existed only on paper. So-called development works at Rushikonda had caused significant damage. That government’s policies had led to the exit of major companies like HCL, IBM and HSBC from Visakhapatnam.
Highlighting the coalition government’s initiatives, Palla stated that ₹27,941 crore worth of irrigation projects have been revived. There are plans to position Visakhapatnam as the state’s economic and IT capital. He said expansion of Bhogapuram Airport and investments from TCS, ArcelorMittal, and renewable energy will lead to creation of jobs.
Additionally, the TD state president mentioned that ₹11,440 crore have been secured from the centre to support RINL, which has resumed operations to 80 per cent levels. “The coalition is committed to strengthening irrigation, industry, IT and agriculture in north Andhra,” he added.
