AP Govt to hold festival at Durga Ghat on Dec 29

Amaravati: As the Prakasam Barrage, that has transformed the Krishna delta into the rice bowl of Andhra Pradesh, completed 60 years on Sunday, the State government is planning to hold a festival on December 29 at Durga Ghat in Vijayawada. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will attend the function.

Minister for Water Resources Management Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao visited the Barrage on Sunday and paid floral tributes to the statue of former Chief Minister Tanguturi Prakasam Panthulu.

The Minister said that Sir Arthur Cotton had built Krishna anicut in 1857 to store Krishna water. The foundation stone for the construction of the Barrage was laid on February 13, 1954 by the then Chief Minister Prakasam Panthulu.

The Barrage has been playing key role in providing irrigation and drinking water to Krishna delta region for the last 60 years, the Minister said. “The Barrage has also been providing 2,000 cusecs of water to NTTPS since 1979 and provides water for irrigation needs of 13.08 lakh acres in Krishna delta,” he said.

He also said the State government carried out repair and safety related works to the Barrage and took all necessary steps for the protection of the barrage. The Minister said the State government was planning to construct another barrage at Vykuntapuram across River Krishna for storage of water for the needs of capital city.