Vijayawada: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy inaugurated the 2.26km-long retaining wall constructed alongside the Krishna river at Kanaka Durgamma Varadhi here on Tuesday. The wall on both sides of Varadhi was constructed at a cost of `500 crore for protecting 80,000 Krishna Lanka residents from flood threat. Addressing a public meeting, the CM said the YSRC dedicatedly worked for development of AP in all spheres besides ensuring welfare to the people without a break.
Jagan Mohan Reddy said the previous Telugu Desam government never thought of constructing a protection wall to safeguard the lives of the flood-prone residents.
He said, “We all know that local residents suffered a lot during the times of floods but their problem was not taken seriously by the previous government. During the last five years, the YSRC government initiated steps to construct the wall for protection of the people from floods. A park was established and beautification works were also undertaken for the benefit of the locals.” The Chief Minister also launched the `12.4 crore river front park’s first phase that contains an entry plaza, walking track, open gym and a children’s play area. He also launched the works of the sewage treatment plants costing `239 crore that would benefit five areas in the city.
Jagan Mohan Reddy distributed regularised house site pattas to the poor and said
his government has regularised 31,866 such pattas in Vijayawada. The beneficiaries from 16 colonies of Vijayawada East, Central and West constituencies would get full ownership rights on these allotted house sites. The Chief Minister named the park Krishnamma Jala Vihar, by choosing the name from a list submitted by the officials.
The Chief Minister said the government has initiated several development initiatives in Vijayawada city. The statue of B.R. Ambedkar was established with an expenditure of `400 crore. He explained that besides completing the works of the flyover for the Vijayawada International Airport, two additional flyover bridges also came up on the road, in addition to the Kanaka Durgamma flyover.
“The Outer Ring Road work is also in full swing. It will be ready for inauguration in the coming months. These development works apart, the government has been striving to improve the lives of people through introduction of village and ward secretariats and the volunteer system. But, the Opposition is unable to see it all,” the Chief Minister said. Water resources minister Ambati Rambabu, MPs Margani Bharat and Kesineni Nani, MLAs Malladi Vishnu, Vellampalli Srinivas, MLC Talasila Raghuram and party leader Devineni Avinash, special chief secretary (Municipal) Y. Srilakshmi, senior officials and corporators attended the programme.