Polavaram then & now: Jagan attacks earlier TDP regime

Amaravati, Jan 4 (IANS) In a new offensive against the erstwhile Telugu Desam Party regime over the alleged lag in building the Polavaram Project, Andhra Pradesh government juxtaposed the progress made under 12 heads to show that it is working with dedication to complete the project.

The government compared the progress made in the past 19 months during the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) rule with the five-year period from June 2015 to 2019 of the TDP rule.

"The previous government had completed 34 metre-level spillway concreting up to June 2019 whereas now, the length of the spillway being 55 metres, of which nearly 54 metres works are completed," said an official statement about the spillway works.

Likewise, the government alleged that the TDP government had publicized that the radial gates' installation was completed back then though the spillway pillars were not raised to the height of 54 metres.

"Nine radial gates have already been installed for a total of 48 radial gates. Work on the remaining gates is expected to be completed," said the statement.

According to the government, only 22 girders out of 192 were completed in five years, while the YSRCP government has built 170 girders in 18 months' time.

Similarly, the government alleged that no spillway bridge slab was built in five years' time compared to the 40 slabs being completed under the new government and the balance eight slabs scheduled to be completed by February 15.

These slabs are used to lift and lower gates from the side of the spillway to the other for continuous inspection and monitoring of gates by the officers and staff.

These slabs need to be constructed on top of the 48 columns, each with a length of 21.5 metres, 9.75 width and a thickness of 0.45 metres.

Though no trianon girders, crucial for installing, operating and maintaining the 48 gates on the spillway, were allegedly completed during the TDP regime, officials said that 40 of them were built and the balance nine will be completed by January end.

Regarding the excavation works for the foundation of the power house designed to generate 960 MW power, the statement said that the earlier government excavated only 18 metres.

"Excavation started at plus 92 meters and an average of 6,000 cubic meters per day work is being done. The front of one to six units is almost complete for a total of 12 units. All excavation work will be completed by March," said the statement.

Likewise, the government claimed that considerable progress has been made with respect to rehabilitation and resettlement, spill channel, cofferdam, gap-III concrete dam, gap-I clay and stone construction and tunnelling works on the left and right canals.

The state government released a bunch of "nadu-nedu" (then and now) photographs of the project to show the progress it made in the 19 months after it came to power.

The Polavaram Project, a national project located near the Ramayyapeta village in Polavaram Mandal of West Godavari district is aimed at providing water to thousands of hectares of land in West Godavari, East Godavari and Visakhapatnam districts.