CM officially to inaugurate Yellampalli project soon: Minister

Foundation stone was laid for the Sripada Sagar Yellampalli project by late chief minister Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy. But formal inauguration of the project did not take place though the project was completed and an ayacut was brought under irrigation. Information Technology Minister D Sridhar Babu said on Sunday that a formal inauguration of the project would be
The Rs 6,400-crore project was completed within eight years.  The BRS that ruled the state for 10 years, for reasons best known to it, did not dedicate it to the nation officially.
However, the present Congress regime has plans to inaugurate it officially soon.
In view of heavy rains in the district, Sridhar Babu visited the project. In this connection, he stated that the project would be inaugurated officially soon. Arrangements are underway to inaugurate it officially by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.  The IT Minister said that the Bandalavagu project would also be readied for inauguration by completing the pending works.
The project, which has been named after former speaker and senior Congress leader late D Sripada Rao, is conceived to provide irrigation and drinking water to Telangana region in undivided AP.
After the death of Dr YS Rajasekhar Reddy, it was decided to get the project inaugurated by the then CM of united AP N Kiran Kumar Reddy in 2012. At that time, the Telangana movement was at its peak. Protests and demonstrations were going on all over the state.
The storage capacity of project is 20 tmc ft. It has 62 crest gates. It supplies 6.5 tmc ft of water to the NTPC power project at Ramagundam. The projects irrigates 20,000 acres in the Minister’s constituency of Manthani by supplying two tmc ft of water by lifting water from Gundaram reservoir through Manthani LI scheme. Similarly, it supplies 10 tmc ft to Hyderabad under Abdul Kalam Sujala Sravanti scheme.
The towns and villages in Peddapalli district get drinking water from the project and also to Ramagundam Assembly constituency  through Mission Bhagiradha scheme. Further, the project wets 2 lakh acres in Karimnagar.