Water conservation helps make state drought-free: Siddha

 Ongole: To make the state as a drought-free state, everyone should start conserving water and that is the aim of the government, announced Ministers Paritala Sunitha and Siddha Raghava Rao.

Sunitha participated in the second day programme of Navanirmana Deeksha at Chinanandipadu of Parchuru Assembly constituency while the Raghava Rao participated in the same at Chimata village of Kondepi Assembly constituency on Sunday.

Paritala Suneetha inaugurated the statue of former chief minister Nandamuri Taraka Ramarao in the presence of Parchuru MLA Eluri Sambasivarao and participated in the meeting at the aided primary school. 

She said that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu was giving utmost importance to the water conservation programmes. 

She advised the public to save every drop of the rain water by digging pits. 

She shared the example of Anantapuram district that tanks and ponds were filled with rain water as part of the conservation activities. 

She said that as a result, the government was now supplying drinking water to just 30 villages, which was once 400 villages in summer. 

She said that Rs 30 crore were spent in Parchuru under Neeru Chettu scheme and Rs 40 crore spent to provide irrigation water to 40,000 acres and constructed 38 lift irrigation projects. 

She said that the NSP canal was modernised with Rs 100 crore and 85,000 acres were supplied irrigation water from Pattiseema project.

Siddha Raghavarao said that the government had given priority to the drinking and irrigation water supply. 

He said that the state had taken up programmes like Neeru Chettu, Neeru Pragathi and other water conservation schemes and dug more farm ponds under Panta Sanjeevani. 

He assured that the Polavaram project would be built by 2019 and provide water through it. 

He praised Chndrababu as Abhinava Bhageeradha and said that with his efforts only the state received produce worth Rs 14,000 crore by supplying water from Pattiseema. 

He said that the Rayalaseema once suffered with drought was being transformed into Konaseema by the commitment of the chief minister.

He announced that the first phase of Veligonda would be completed and water would be released through it in 6 months.