YSRCP govt destroyed Polavaram project, says Irrigation Minister

Birth anniversaries of KL Rao, Sir Arthur Cotton, Mokshagundam, Ramakrishnaiah, to be observed officially
Minister for Water Resources Nimmala Ramanaidu has alleged that due to the negligence of the previous YSRCP government, the Polavaram irrigation project was destroyed and as a result, the Diaphragm Wall (D-Wall) was washed away in River Godavari. During the rule of the previous government, no work was done for the Polavaram project, he alleged.
Minister Naidu attended the 122nd birth anniversary of former Central Minister Dr KL Rao at the Irrigation Model Guest House opposite the Kanaka Durga Temple in Vijayawada on Monday. On behalf of the State government, Minister Naidu paid floral tributes.
While speaking to the media later, Ramanaidu announced that the State government will be officially observing the birth anniversaries of Dr KL Rao, Sir Arthur Cotton, Mokshagundam Viswes-warayya and Ramakrishnaiah every year. During the TDP regime from 2014 to 2019, their birth anniversaries were observed grandly. However, they were neglected during the YSRCP regime, he commented.
Further, Naidu stated that during the TDP regime, 72 per cent of the Polavaram project works were completed. During the YSRCP rule from 2019 to 24, nothing was done. Except for changing the contracting agency, no work was taken up in the first 13 months, he criticised.
Despite an experts’ team from IIT-Hyderabad having reported the destruction of the project, the previous government did not respond. In this context, the TDP government will face all the hurdles that were left by the YSRCP government one by one and strive to complete the Polavaram project. Later, Minister Naidu felicitated retired engineers R Satish Kumar, BSS Srinivas Yadav, MV Krishna Rao, KV Krishna Rao, Maruthi Prasad and others.
Vijayawada Central MLA Bonda Uma Maheswara Rao, Water Resources Department Advisor Mamidi Venkateswara Rao, Engineer-in-Chief (Admin) K Srinivas, Hydrology Chief Engineer Kumar, Minor Irrigation CE Sairam Prasad, Vijayawada Circle SE TJH Prasad Babu, DCE S Tirumala Rao, and others were present.