Vijayawada: Irrigation minister Nimmala Ramanaidu lashed out at former chief minister and YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for deliberately misleading people on completion of irrigation projects in the state. He said Jagan dedicated the Veligonda project to the nation even as several works were pending and added that it will take another two years to complete the project with an additional financial burden of 4,000 crore.
Speaking to media here on Thursday, Ramanaidu said that the Veligonda project, which provides irrigation water to about 4.5 lakh acres and drinking water to 25 lakh people, was dedicated to the nation by Jagan even before its completion.
“It is a shame that Jagan misled farmers and dedicated the project without completing several works including the head regulatory, retaining wall works, first and second tunnel works, feeder canal works and construction works of the colonies of the displaced,” fumed Ramanaidu. He said that about 1.2 lakh cubic meters of debris has to be removed in tunnel-1 and abouttwo lakh cubic meters of debris from tunnel-2. He said it will take about nine months to remove debris from the tunnels and added that drilling and blasting works are pending in tunnel-2, which will take about another eight months. Similarly, another 6.8 km of lining works in tunnel-2 is yet to be completed while removal of a huge tunnel boring machine will take a lot of time. He informed that feeder canal works spanning 21.8 km also has to be carried out. He said it is very strange to dedicate the Veligonda project to the nation when so many works are pending. He found fault with the opposition parties for trying to blame the NDA govt for delay in completion of the project despite knowing the ground situation.
Speaking to media here on Thursday, Ramanaidu said that the Veligonda project, which provides irrigation water to about 4.5 lakh acres and drinking water to 25 lakh people, was dedicated to the nation by Jagan even before its completion.
“It is a shame that Jagan misled farmers and dedicated the project without completing several works including the head regulatory, retaining wall works, first and second tunnel works, feeder canal works and construction works of the colonies of the displaced,” fumed Ramanaidu. He said that about 1.2 lakh cubic meters of debris has to be removed in tunnel-1 and abouttwo lakh cubic meters of debris from tunnel-2. He said it will take about nine months to remove debris from the tunnels and added that drilling and blasting works are pending in tunnel-2, which will take about another eight months. Similarly, another 6.8 km of lining works in tunnel-2 is yet to be completed while removal of a huge tunnel boring machine will take a lot of time. He informed that feeder canal works spanning 21.8 km also has to be carried out. He said it is very strange to dedicate the Veligonda project to the nation when so many works are pending. He found fault with the opposition parties for trying to blame the NDA govt for delay in completion of the project despite knowing the ground situation.
