Chiranjeevi On Polavaram Bus Yatra

Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) chief Chiranjeevi is leaving on a bus yatra on Wednesday, in an endeavour to convince the Centre to grant national status to the Polavaram project and to provide adequate funds for its completion.

Called 'Polavaram Sadhana Yatra', Chiranjeevi will start from Antarvedi in East Godavari district on Wednesday, traversing the districts East Godavari, West Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Krishna, Guntur and Prakasam. He will end his tour at Polavaram in West Godavari district on May 16.

Chiranjeevi has also released a CD in Hyderabad to spread more awareness about the project - the advantages of its completion, and the need for it to be taken up. He also explained that the Polavaram project would benefit not only coastal districts but also Telangana and Rayalaseema.

The Polavaram project, named 'Indira Sagar', is a mega project involving the construction of a dam across Godavari river, linking the rivers Krishna and Godavari to develop a vast irrigation system covering 15 out of the 23 districts in Andhra Pradesh. It is expected to generate 960 mw power at a cost of Rs. 13,500 crore. This ambitious project was first envisioned by the British administration in 1941.

On his tour to Delhi in early April this year, CM Rosaiah had requested the central government to grant Polavaram a national status. The centre had accepted the request then, but made no official declaration on its position.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu said the two major irrigation projects being carried out in the state (Polavaram & Pranahita-Chevella) were "very crucial" and unless the Union Government supports by treating them as national projects, it would be very difficult for the state government to complete them in near future. Mentioning the Polavaram project, Naidu said that the project - pending for years - would cater to the needs of people in at least 4 districts and will irrigate nearly 7 lakh acres, besides generating power.