Andhra CM releases Krishna river water in Kuppam canal

Andhra Pradesh chief minister and YSR Congress Party chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday released water from Krishna river into Kuppam branch canal

Andhra Pradesh chief minister and YSR Congress Party chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday released water from Krishna river into Kuppam branch canal, that has been a long pending demand for the people of the area.

The 123.641 km long canal in Kuppam was constructed at a cost of ₹560.29 crore. (ANI)

People aware of the development said this has been done in an attempt to turn the table on the Opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu’s own turf — Kuppam assembly constituency.

The 123.641 km long canal was constructed at a cost of ₹560.29 crore to strengthen the command area connecting 110 minor irrigation tanks in Kuppam constituency, providing irrigation to 6300 acres in the constituency, besides providing drinking water to 402,000 people en route.

Addressing a public meeting after releasing water at Rajupet village of Ramakuppam block, the chief minister said the government worked with strong commitment for the development of the constituency though it was totally neglected during the TDP rule.

He pointed out that the previous TDP government had given administrative sanction to the Kuppam branch canal in 2015 but had abandoned it later. “But our government strived hard to bring Krishna water to Kuppam, 540 metres upstream and 670 km away from Srisailam as part of the Handri Neeva project,” he said. Jagan said his government has upgraded Kuppam from panchayat to municipality, besides establishing a revenue division and a police sub-division for the constituency.

He claimed that his government in the last five years, had disbursed ₹1,400 crores directly to the bank accounts of women beneficiaries in the Kuppam constituency alone, through transparency and without any bias or corruption, through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

“The people of Kuppam can check their bank statements to witness the tangible assistance provided by the government to their accounts over the 57-month tenure, demonstrating the substantial financial aid received,” he said.

Jagan appealed to the people of Kuppam to vote for YSRCP candidate KJY Bharat, an OBC candidate, as their representative. “I will give him a ministerial position in my cabinet. Together, we vow to bring further development and welfare initiatives to the Kuppam constituency through him,” he said.

Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu wondered how the chief minister, who could not take any steps for supplying irrigation for the standing crops that are getting dried up in his constituency Pulivendula, could talk about giving water to crops in Kuppam.

Reacting to Jagan’s statement at Kuppam meeting, Naidu said in a statement that 87% of works on Kuppam canal were completed during his regime itself and sought to know why Jagan had taken five long years to complete the remaining 13% canal works, “Jagan uttered blatant lies in the name of irrigation water for Kuppam,” the TDP chief said.