Andhra Minister visits Tirumala; prays for early completion of Polavaram project

Andhra Pradesh Minister Seediri Appalaraju on Thursday visited Balaji temple in the state's Tirumala along with his family and the member of his constituency.

"It feels fortunate enough to visit Swami with the people of my constituency. It is sad that the people of Eluru, East Godavari, Konasema and Alluri Sitarama Raju districts are facing serious difficulties due to the unexpected floods in July," he said while addressing the media outside the temple.

Parts of Andhra Pradesh are hit by floods as water levels in the Godavari river were rising by the hour, threatening villages mostly in West Godavari and Konaseema districts.

A massive amount of water was released from the Srisailam Dam constructed across the Krishna river in the Nandyal district on Sunday, while three crest gates of the dam were lifted up by the state's Water Resources Minister Ambati Rambabu on Saturday.

He said that he has prayed for the funds and the Centre's permission to come in time and complete the works related to the Polavaram multipurpose project.

State Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on April 5 had stated that the Technical Advisory Committee held on February 11, 2019, revised the estimates of the Polavaram project to Rs. 55, 548.87 crores, and hence the state would require another Rs 31,118 crore to complete the project. Rs 8,590 crore would be spent on construction and Rs 22,598 crore for land acquisition and rehabilitation.

As part of the construction of the Polavaram project, the government has decided to build a hydropower plant also. The project will store 194 TMC of water, once construction is completed. Out of this, 120 TMC of water is used for hydropower generation and irrigation purposes. The remaining 70 TMCs will be stored.

The Polavaram project will help to cultivate 10.5 lakh acres of land under the right and left canals. To stabilize this, water is used for electricity generation by the Polavaram Hydroelectric Power Station.

( With inputs from ANI )

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