Former MP Vundavalli Arun Kumar on Tuesday alleged that the Polavaram project works were being undertaken in dangerous conditions as there was a threat to the areas downstream Godavari River including Rajamahendravaram if there was a damage to the dam in future.
“The soil is getting loose near the Polavaram project site, posing a threat to the villages nearby,” Mr. Arun Kumar said at a ‘meet-the-press’ programme here.
Alleging that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was resorting to double standards when it came to the Polavaram project, he said the TDP was using the project for political mileage.
“It is time the officials clarified as to how many villages would be affected by the cofferdam, how the government would pay to the evacuees under the R&R Package and when the irrigation and drinking water would be supplied through the project,” the Congress leader said.
Putting the blame on the government for ‘spending crores of rupees on the pretext of ‘Polavaram site seeing’, he demanded that the TDP leaders must clear the air on the safety concerns of the villages surrounding of the project.
A dig at Modi
Mr. Arun Kumar then took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments that A.P. and Telangana people were not in a good relationship. “People of both Telugu States are maintaining cordial relations,” he said.
He wondered as to why the Chief Minister and some TDP leaders were at the loggerheads with Chief Secretary L.V. Subramaniam. He also found fault with Mr. Naidu for suspecting the EVMs, and functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and his demand for counting VVPATs.
