Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy laid the foundation stone for the construction of a 1.5 km-long flood retaining wall alongside the Krishna at Kanakadurga Varadhi in the city on Wednesday.
A pylon for the same was unveiled by Mr. Jagan. Completion of the project would bring in a huge relief to the residents in the flood-prone areas of Krishnalanka.
Ministers Velampalli Srinivasa Rao, Kodali Sri Venkateswara Rao, Perni Venkataramaiah, P. Anil Kumar Yadav, Mayor R. Bhagya Lakshmi, Collector A. Md. Imtiaz, and VMC Commissioner V. Prasanna Venkatesh and others took part in the ceremony.
The retaining wall project taken up by the Water Resources Department will protect over 3,000 households and 31,000 people living in low-lying areas of Ranigari Thota, Bhupesh Gupta Nagar, Taraka Rama Nagar and Krishnalanka which is prone to flooding when Prakasam Barrage discharges floodwater.
The project cost is estimated to be ₹122.90 crore. Over 524 houses and other structures were relocated to pave way for the construction of the wall. The wall will be more than two feet wide and raised to 8.9 m in height. It can withstand 12 lakh cusecs of floodwater discharge from the Prakasam Barrage.