Kondapalli: Water Resources Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu expressed severe displeasure over the sluggish progress of the retaining wall construction meant to provide permanent protection against the Budameru floods.
The Minister, who has personally inspected the site three times and previously ordered the completion of work before the monsoon season, has now directed officials to issue a notice to the agency responsible for the delays.
On Friday, Ramanaidu, accompanied by Water Resources Department Advisor M Venkateswara Rao, Engineer ’N’ Chief Narasimhamurthy, and Chief Engineer Sugunakara Rao, inspected the ongoing construction site.
He recalled the severe flooding in Vijayawada last year due to the Budameru, highlighting that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu himself stayed on the bunds for ten days, tirelessly supervising the work to patch up breaches.
He noted that officials and local residents had previously brought to his attention that the same area had experienced multiple breaches during past Pulivagu floods.
Minister Ramanaidu clarified that tenders were called for a permanent CC wall construction, combining the three previous breach points, with an agreement value of Rs 23 crore and work had commenced as per Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s directives.
However, the minister voiced his anger at the agency and officials for the slow pace of work, citing insufficient machinery and personnel.
He ordered them to deploy adequate machinery and staff to work in three shifts, day and night, to ensure the timely completion of the project and prevent any inconvenience to the public.
He warned them to create a daily work schedule and continuously review the progress, completing the work on a war-footing.
