Telangana State projects spell doom for Godavari delta

State convener of the YSR Congress Party’s farmer’s wing M.V.S. Nagi Reddy wonders how can the government go for the cofferdam and give water through gravity without completing the spillway of the dam.

Addressing the media along with district president Trinath Reddy, former MLC Kandula Durgesh, and former MLA Rowthu Suryaprakasha Rao on Friday, he said only 3 lakh cubic metres of earthwork had been completed as against the target of 35 lakh cubic metres till date.

“How can the government complete the cofferdam and give water through gravity without spillway or channels?” he questioned.

Stating that Telangana was racing ahead to complete lift irrigation projects upstream to provide water to 50 lakh acres, he warned that the Godavari delta would be in trouble if A.P. failed to complete the Polavaram project before that.

If the irrigated area upstream the Godavari increases, rabi crop in the Godavari delta would be in deep trouble. The coconut groves in the Konaseema area would also be affected severely, he feared.

Mr. Nagi Reddy asked the Union government to complete the Polavaram project at the earliest keeping the needs of the Godavari delta in view. He appealed to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to release a White Paper on the project to prove the government’s credibility on the issue.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/telangana-projects-spell-doom-for-godavari-delta/article21344126.ece