AP CM allocates Rs 700 crore for Udayasamudram project

Nalgonda, Sept 4 (UNI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy today said keeping in view the irrigation needs of the parched Nalgonda district, his government had allocated a whopping Rs 700 crore and was undertaking the difficult 'Udayasamudram' lift irrigation project against heavy odds.

Addressing a public meeting at Brahmanapalem village after lalying the foundation for the project, Dr Reddy said so far no government had taken up this project in earnestness to redress all the problems of farmers in the district.

He said while lower reaches got water from the Nagarjunasagar project, the upland areas remained rain-fed. The scheme envisages lifting of water to a height of 300 feet and digging 10 km tunnel through difficult hilly terrain.

Dr Reddy alleged that the erstwhile TDP government announced the project and named it after 'Alimineti Madhava Reddy' the Home Minister, who was killed in a blast triggered by naxals. But it failed to take the water to the hungry fields.

He said under the 'Devadula' the remaining un-irrigated areas would be covered, covering the district with lush green.

UNI