Rayalaseema Parirakshana Samithi founder president and Nandikotkur former MLA Byreddy Rajasekhara Reddy has appealed to the Central and Andhra Pradesh governments to build a bridge-cum-barrage on River Krishna, instead of the ₹1,200 crore-iconic bridge proposed at Sangameswaram.
Dwelling on the oft-made demand for sanction of ‘water, funds and jobs’ for the perennially-backward region, he attributed the under-development for decades to the prolonged betrayal by the successive governments.
Addressing the media along with Rayalaseema Porata Samithi convener P. Naveen Kumar Reddy here on Wednesday, he gave a call to all political parties and social organisations of the region to join the ‘Chalo Siddeswaram Sangameswaram’ programme.
In spite of the scores of rivers passing through Rayalaseema, the region had to be content with the tiny projects sanctioned over a period, Mr. Rajasekhara Reddy said.
Referring to the release of water downstream of Srisailam to facilitate power generation and not to fill Rayalaseema projects, he called it blatant denial of the region’s due share of water, for which he squarely blamed the ignorance of the Irrigation Ministers.
“Though an expert committee has found imminent danger due to the damage suffered by the Srisailam project, the State is yet to react. Similarly, one year after the Annamayya project gates were washed away in Rajampeta, the penniless government is unable to get the same repaired,” he rued.
Mr. Reddy also wondered how Tirupati could get a mere 2 tmc of water, while a whopping 15 tmc of drinking water is released to Chennai.
