Amaravati, Sep 2 (IANS) Former Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday asked Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to stop what he called dramas over Polavaram.
He urged the Chief Minister to focus on the works and complete Polavaram at its stipulated height of 45.72 metres instead of restricting it to 41.15 metres.
“This will make full-scale storage possible, thereby enabling water to be stored to the full capacity and supplied through both the Right and Left Main Canals entirely by gravity. Then, without any dependence on the Purushothapatnam and Pushkara lift schemes, abundant water can be supplied by gravity through both the Polavaram Left Main Canal and the Right Main Canal. Instead of doing this, why all these dramas?” asked YS Jagan in a post on X.
The former Chief Minister was referring to the Chief Minister inaugurating the Polavaram Left Main Canal in Anakapalli district on Wednesday.
“Chandrababu garu, what is this about lifting Godavari water from the already existing Purushothapatnam project using the already existing pumps, releasing it into the already existing Polavaram Left Main Canal, and then beating the drum claiming, “We have brought Polavaram waters”? You know, and everyone knows, that this is not water flowing by gravity from the Polavaram reservoir. But the publicity is at an entirely different level. The water is from Purushothapatnam, the canal was constructed during YSR’s tenure, but the desperation to claim the credit is yours? What kind of magic is this?” asked Jagan.
“Aren’t all the publicity events you have been conducting one after another over irrigation projects meant only to mislead the people? The other day it was Veligonda, today it is the Polavaram Left Main Canal, and another day it will be something else. Claiming credit for projects that you neither started nor completed, and getting your friendly media to sing your praises as though you were their creator, has become a habit for you. Even when you undertake some incomplete works, you inflate the estimates only to loot. Whichever irrigation project one looks at, this has been your modus operandi, your approach and your nature,” reads the post.
“The water that you now say will be released through the Purushothapatnam pumps is 3,500 cusecs. This project and these pumps are not new, are they? They already exist, don’t they? Then why this drama? In fact, when 79% of the major works relating to the Polavaram Left Main Canal were completed during YSR garu’s tenure itself, standing on all those works today and claiming, “I did everything,” is something only you, Chandrababu garu, can do! There is no need to specifically explain how the dramas you staged, the lies you told, the mistakes you committed, and the corruption and loot that took place during 2014–19 in relation to the Polavaram project turned into a curse for the State. Because of the mistakes you committed without foresight, proper planning, prioritisation or a systematic approach, our government had to struggle immensely during its five-year tenure to rectify them. You left the project in disarray by carrying out the spillway and cofferdam works only partially. Ultimately, without completing the spillway works and without diverting the river flow, you went ahead with the diaphragm wall, which forms part of the foundation works of the main dam. Because of your mistakes and mismanagement, not only was the project delayed, but during the floods, the water could not be diverted through the spillway as it was only partially completed. Due to the partially constructed upstream cofferdam, water entered through the gaps and damaged the foundations beneath the main dam, including the diaphragm wall,” added Jagan.
The YSRCP chief demanded that Chandrababu Naidu clarify the issue of Polavaram’s height. “While the FRL of Polavaram is 45.72 metres, water storage is being restricted to only 41.15 metres. The Centre says it will provide funds only up to the 41.15-metre level. Then how will the project be completed to its full extent? How will water be stored to its full capacity? When will the package be paid to the displaced families? What is your answer to these questions, Chandrababu garu?” he asked.
–IANS
ms/uk