Handri-Neeva Project will be completed in 6 months: Collector

Anantapur: Chief functionaries of the district, Collector Kona Sasidhar and SP Rajasekhar Babu kick-started the 68th Republic Day celebrations at the local police grounds amidst fanfare and enthusiasm here on Thursday.

There was a display of tableaux from different departments highlighting their achievements.

Departments including District Water Management Agency (DWAMA), Housing Corporation, Forest Department, Woman and Child Welfare, DRDA, Irrigation, Medical and Health, Agriculture and Horticulture and Social Welfare departments drew the special attention of the people as they were a kind of education to the people.

These departments showcased their performance as well as publicised their schemes in people's language.

The vast expanse of the police grounds was a sight to see as it was filled with school children participating in cultural programmes and enjoying every bit in a festive mood. Children performed drills, physical acrobats and even dance performances adding glitter and glamour to the Republic Day fete.

The Housing Corporation displayed the rural life and the transition from thatched huts to pucca housing including construction of 2-bed room houses for the rural poor.

In a land like Anantapur the hot topic is water conservation. A tableau depicting farm ponds teeming with life filled with water, sinking pits, water sheds and NREGS labour engaged in productive works in the district set by DWAMA project director A Nagabushanam impressed the people.

District Collector Sasidhar after receiving the guard of honor from the police, addressed the people and highlighted the major achievements and the government's priorities in banishing drought and poverty from the district.

Some of the highlights of district development which provided hope for the future included Handri Neeva Project, a life line project for the district.

The Collector said that 85 per cent of phase-1 and 69 per cent of phase 2 of the project has been completed. Already, Rs 985 crore had been spent. It is expected to be completed by the middle of 2017. The project is expected to irrigate more than 3 lakh acres of parched lands that are dependent on natural rainfall and fill all the hundreds of irrigation and village tanks. Handri Neeva is expected to cater to the needs of farmers involve in agriculture and horticulture.

Also the modernisation of Tungabhadra High Level Canal is under progress at a cost of Rs 458 crore. Already works worth Rs 240 crore were executed and resulted in supplying water to 36 tanks, 45 check-dams, and irrigating 31,813 acres under its ayacut.

The NREGS programme was also a big hit with the district standing first in the country registering payment of wages worth Rs 393 crore so far in the year and registering 140 lakh man days.