The district has got a fair deal in the State Budget, with the allocation of funds for irrigation and tourism projects, TDP leaders and certain business bodies have said. However, the opposition parties feel that no new proposal was announced for the district and the allocations were meagre.
Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu on Thursday announced around Rs.160 crore for Thotapalli project, which is a lifeline for both Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts. The funds would help complete the pending works undertaken on Nagavali River and ensure irrigation facility for 62,000 acres in Vizianagaram district and another 58,000 acres in Srikakulam district.
Further, the government has allocated Rs. 63 crore for the Pahse –II of the Vamsadhara project and the funds are expected to be sufficient for the construction of side-weir which would help the State draw excess water during floods.
In fact, a barrage near Neradi is need of the hour for Srikakulam district, but it may not be a reality with the project has been caught in a legal tangle between AP and Odisha over the allocation of Vamsadhara water.
Hailing the allocation of funds for Thotapalli project in the State budget, former MLC Gorle Haribabu Naidu said that it would come to the rescue of thousands of farmers in Srikakulam and Vizianagaram district. “We have requested Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for allocation of huge funds to Thotapalli project . The irrigation officials now have to complete the works as per schedule, as sufficient funds have been allocated in the budget,” he added. The State government’s proposal to develop green-field airport in Bhogapuram of Vizianagaram district is going to help the backward district as it is located on the Visakhapatnam-Srikakulam highway. Air Travellers Association of India president D.Varada Reddy and its Srikakulam chapter counterpart Natukula Mohan hailed the government’s initiative, while urging it to focus on regional airports in places like Etcherla, Badangi and other areas.
The government’s plan to develop tourism circuit in Srikakulam district is expected to give temple tourism a boost, as it has ancient shrines like Srikurmam, Srimukhalingam and Arasavalli, apart from Buddhist monuments at Salihundam.
However, opposition parties slammed the budget, saying that all were old proposals.
