Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Scheme will help revive the Krishna delta

 andhrapradesh | Written by : Suryaa Desk Updated: Thu, Jun 21, 2018, 02:56 PM

The Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Scheme will help revive the Krishna delta to its past glory and infuse life back into the Krishna that has dried up completely, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has said.

Releasing water to the Krishna Eastern Delta from the new regulator here on Wednesday, Mr. Naidu said the Krishna delta, which was once highly fertile, had dried up and turned saline.Water could not be provided in time to the crops because of mushrooming reservoirs and barrages in Maharashtra and Karnataka. And because of delay in the release of water, the crops were often destroyed by cyclones that usually hit the State in November, he said.This year, water was released one week in advance, and farmers would benefit from it, Mr. Naidu added.

The pumps of the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Scheme were switched on and the Godavari water was expected to reach Prakasam Barrage on Wednesday evening.Mr. Naidu said a barrage, with a capacity of 10 tmcft, was being planned at Vaikuntapuram upstream the Prakasam Barrage. Similarly, another barrage, with a capacity of 2.7 tmcft, was being planned downstream at Chodavaram.Through such steps, the Krishna would be revived into a perennial river again, he said, and added that 180 crore was being spent to improve Nallamala drain and 382 crore to modernise the Guntur Channel.

Unfortunately, the YSRCP created obstacles in the linking of the Godavari and the Krishna. Its leaders had provoked the farmers and prevented them from giving land for the Polavaram Right Main Canal. As a result, the farmers had to be convinced, Mr. Naidu said.“Opposition parties do not want people to be happy because happy people will become fond of the TDP,” he added. After releasing the water, Mr. Naidu unveiled a pylon that marked completion of several works taken up to improve and strengthen the Prakasam Barrage as part of the Krishna Delta Modernisation work.

Mr. Naidu said modernisation works were being taken up in the Krishna delta with 4,573 crore. On completion of Polavaram, there would be no drought or drinking water shortage in the State, he asserted.Minister for Water Resource Devineni Umamaheswara Rao said the new regulator on the Krishna Eastern Main Canal had a life of 160 years. He said the government was providing water security to the farmers by releasing water in June. Deputy Speaker Mandali Buddha Prasad, Minister P. Pulla Rao, Principal Secretary Shashi Bhushan Kumar, MLA Jaleel Khan, MLC Buddha Venkanna, Mayor Koneru Sreedhar, and Irrigation Engineer-in-Chief M .Venkateswara Rao were present.