Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national president and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has flayed the YSR Congress Party government in Andhra Pradesh for “wreaking havoc on the irrigation projects by adopting destructive policies, coupled with a myopic approach.”
Mr. Naidu embarked on a State-wide 10-day tour of the irrigation projects on August 1 (Tuesday) to highlight the State’s failure in taking the pending projects forward.
Mr. Naidu visited the Muchumarri and Banakacharla projects in the undivided Kurnool district on the first day.
Later, addressing a huge public meeting at Nandikotkur, Mr. Naidu explained how the reverse tendering policy of the State government turned out to be a retrograde step, which, he said, had put spokes in the progress achieved over the last several decades.
“The irrigation sector has suffered a jolt under Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s rule. The government’s lack of vision and immature handling of complex situations are quite conspicuous,” he said.
Interlinking of rivers
Mr. Naidu recalled how the TDP governments had focussed on the Telugu Ganga, Galeru-Nagari, and Handri-Neeva projects, considered the lifelines of Rayalaseema, besides embarking on the interlinking of rivers to conserve the water flowing into the sea, a measure which he said had helped resolve the water crisis in the upland areas. “After coming to power, the TDP will work towards making Andhra Pradesh water-secure,” he promised.
Regarding the Orvakal airport developed and inaugurated during the TDP term, Mr. Naidu wondered how the present government could declare open a functional airport again, and termed Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy as a “sticker CM,” who “achieved nothing concrete.”
