Godavri-Krishna link work begins

Ravi S Singh

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Tribune News Service

Polavaram (AP), Dec 30

The Centre’s drive to interlink rivers of the country got a boost today with the Andhra Pradesh Government launching the construction work to connect the Godavri and the Krishna at Polavaram village in East Godavri district of the state.

It also marked progress of work on the Polavaram project, which has been declared a national project by the Modi government. The project, estimated to cost around Rs 35,000 crore, is multipurpose in nature.

It was conceptualised by the Andhra Pradesh Government in the fifties and its foundation stone was laid in 1980 without any further progress on it. Revived in 2004 by the then Congress government, the project faced hicuups due to shortage of funds, and proved to be a non-starter.

Considering its national importance, the Modi government brought the irrigation project under the ambit of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY). It was given national status on account of which it is entirely funded by the Centre.

After launching the construction work, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said: “The completion of the Polavaram irrigation project will help strengthening the country’s food security…This is a significant step towards better management of country’s water resources.”

The linking will be done by diverting Godavri waters into Krishna through a 180-km-long channel. The two rivers course through Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha. As much as 80 TMC water will be released into the Krishna annually.