Gundlakamma project will get special focus: Minister

Ongole: Energy Minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar assured the farmers that the repairs and pending works of the Gundlakamma project would be completed with a special focus on it. He examined the tobacco sale process at the Auction Centre in Vellampalli village of Maddipadu mandal on Tuesday, interacted with the farmers, and advised the officials to take measures to ensure all bales of tobacco are sold.

Farmers mentioned the issues with the Gundlakamma project, including the overgrown plants in the canals and the damaged gates. They expressed concern that these issues were causing obstruction to the water flow, preventing it from reaching maximum acres.

In response, the minister criticised the previous government for neglecting irrigation projects in the state, citing the Pulichintala, Annamayya, and Gundlakamma projects as examples.

The minister also mentioned that the NDA government has allocated Rs 8 crore for the repairs of the project, which are currently underway. He highlighted that the YSRCP government couldn’t store water in the Gundlakamma project for the past three years, but after the NDA government came to power, about 1.75 TMC feet of water has been stored. The minister also discussed the progress of canal desilting and jungle clearance works under the Gundlakamma project with the concerned department minister, Dr. Nimmala Rama Naidu, and urged for their expedited completion. The irrigation officials responded positively, promising to finish the Gundlakamma project works soon.