Jagan blames TDP government for delay in Polavaram project

[Anta Assamey]

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday blamed the previous Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government headed by Chandrababu Naidu for the delay in completing the prestigious Polavaram project across Godavari river.

Speaking in the Assembly, the chief minister provided photographic evidence to expose what he called lapses on part of Chandrababu Naidu that led to a delay in the project.

The chief minister gave the assurance that once rains recede by November, work on the project would be completed on a war-footing.

Jagan Mohan Reddy alleged that mindless engineering approvals were given during the TDP regime that jeopardised the lives of thousands.

He claimed that the present YSRCP government is rectifying the blunders which were causing a delay in the completion of the project.

The chief minister showed a picture to prove how in September 2018, then chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated the spillway Gallery and made a media spectacle of the same when in reality not even half of the spillway works were complete.

Jagan explained how Chandrababu Naidu gave approval for building the spillway in June 2019 without completing the approach channel. In fact, the approach channel was completed by the present government in August 2022.

Giving a detailed pictorial representation of how lives were risked for petty gains, the Chief Minister said Godavari river which was supposed to flow uninterrupted for a 2.1 km long stretch was choked by faulty engineering approved by the TDP government.

The river was made to pass through two narrow gaps of 380 meters and 300 meters each.

The downstream cofferdam was restricted to 680 meters and 120 meters - a move that risked the lives of thousands residing on the banks of the river.

Jagan gave a detailed account of how his government during the last two years was trying to undertake scouring works on priority to undo the major engineering lapses sanctioned by the previous government.

It was because of this reason that the project was getting delayed.