02-05-2025
Farmers' forum seeks completion of Telugu Ganga project
Activists of the Rayalaseema Sagu Neeti Sadhana Samithi on Friday (May 2) staged a protest in front of the Tehsildar's office at Rudravaram in the district, demanding that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu take steps to immediate complete the Telugu Ganga Project and irrigation canals linked to it to address the perennial drought conditions in Rayalaseema.
President of the organisation Bojja Dasaratharami Reddy said the project was the brainchild of former Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh N.T. Rama Rao, and was conceptualised as a lifeline for Rayalaseema, known for recurring droughts.
The project had aimed at drawing water from the Srisailam reservoir; supplying drinking water to Chennai; and allocating 29 tmcft of Krishna river water to Kurnool and Kadapa districts. It had also planned to irrigate 2.75 lakh acres in the region.
The forum leader said that decades on, the project remains incomplete, rendering thousands of acres of agricultural land barren and leaving the farmers at the mercy of rains. 'Several village tanks in Kurnool and Nandyal districts are also in need of repairs,' he added. The forum leaders petitioned the Tehsildar in this connection.
