Provide employment to tribals: Chandrababu Naidu

Amaravati: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu asked the officials to give top priority to provide employment opportunities to Polavaram displaced tribals.

He said model colonies should be developed with economic activity under Rehabilitation and Resettlement package, during a review on Polavaram Project progress at the Secretariat on Monday.

He said a special authority or ITDA should conduct training programmes and provide employment opportunities to the tribals in all 74 colonies.The Chief Minister advised the officials to speed up the project works despite the rainy season. He enquired the officials about the pending designs with the Central Water Commission.

The officials informed the Chief Minister about backlog in progress of project works due to submergence of work site. Expressing happiness over good inflows into Godavari and Krishna rivers, Chandrababu Naidu said officials should see that all village tanks and reservoirs were filled during the present rainy season.

The officials informed that the overall progress of Polavaram Project works stands at 56.69 per cent till Monday. The works including head works completed by 43.18 percent, main dam package 41.75 per cent, excavation 76.30 per cent, concrete 30.70 per cent, radial gates 61.55 per cent, diaphragm wall cent per cent, jet grouting 93 per cent, connectivity packages 58.51 per cent, left connectivity 46.80 per cent, right connectivity 71.77 per cent, right main canal 90 per cent and left main canal works by 62.27 per cent by the end of this week.

The excavation for spillway, spill channel, approach channel, pilot channel and left flank has been completed up to 851.75 lakh cubic metres out of total 1,115.59 lakh cum (76.30 per cent) Concreting for spillway, stilling basin and spill channel has been completed up to 11.30 lakh cu metres.

Radial gates fabrication 11,080 MT completed out of 18000 MT (61.55%). Jet grouting completed up to 3213.5 m out of 3467 m (93%). Coming to right main canal excavation completed for total length of 177.9 km (100%) and lining completed for 149.395 km out of 176.20 km (84.8%).

The left main canal excavation completed up to 164.748 km out of 210.927 km (78%), lining completed up to 124.593 km out of 210.927 km (59%) and 137 structures completed out of 452.

Meanwhile, there was a drastic increase in the number of visitors to Polavaram Project. The number of visitors to the project during the last four months has gone up to 50,000 including 5,709 this week from several districts. The visitors include farmers, students and villagers including women.

Minister for Water Resources Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao, Principal Secretary of Water Resources Sasibushan Kumar, ENC Venkateswara Rao, CM’s Secretary A Rajamouli and other officials were present.