The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : 4,000 cr. for Krishna delta works

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Friday, Nov 03, 2006
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Others

4,000 cr. for Krishna delta works

Staff Reporter

`PADAYATRA' IN RAIN: Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy walks along the eroded Karamchedu-Swarna road braving the incessant rain in Prakasam district on Thursday to inspect flood damage. Health Minister K. Rosaiah closely follows him. - Photo: Sreenivas Kommuri

AVANIGADDA (Krishna Dt.): Chief Minister Y.S.Rajasekhara Reddy has announced a plan of action to modernise Krishna delta to save villages from inundation during rains and floods.

Dr. Reddy, who reached here after visiting the rain-hit areas in Prakasam and Guntur districts, said at a meeting that modernisation of the delta, though exorbitant, was inevitable to save the villages from inundation. He disclosed that the State Government would constitute an expert committee to submit a project report in six to eight months. On receipt of the report, the Government would call for tenders and complete the process in four months.

Once the tenders were finalissd, the works would be commenced immediately, which could be around end of next year. Dr. Reddy said that efforts would be made to ensure that the modernisation of the delta was completed by 2010. The project could cost somewhere between Rs. 4,000 crores and Rs. 5,000 crores. Though there was a resource crunch in the State, the Government could not neglect the farming community of this area, which fed the entire State and also the country. It had the responsibility to mitigate the suffering of the `annadaatha' of this area. In fact, modernisation of Godavari delta was also essential and the estimated expenditure on it also could be of the same range.

However, the State Government was committed to completing these two mega projects.

Farmlands' inundation

Dr. Reddy attributed large-scale inundation of farmlands to the drainage and canal systems that outlived their utility. He said the canals and drains were built the regime of Sir Arthur Cotton. The carriage capacity of the drains was just 56,000 cusecs (5 tmcft) and the current flood was 10 times more than their capacity.

He said that 50 tmcft of water entered these systems in just five days.

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