Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu blamed his predecessor Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy for floods to Vijayawada. Several parts of the city are still in flood waters for the seventh consecutive day.
The chief minister told media persons that the previous government had completely neglected the water bodies. He said that the government did not spend any money on the maintenance works. Every water body, canal, rivers and rivulets require maintenance every year, he said.
However, the previous government did not spend any money on the maintenance of these water bodies. The Budameru bunds were completely neglected, he said. He further added that the previous government did not continue the Budameru bunds strengthening works that were started in 2018 by the TDP government.
Chandrababu Naidu said that Jagan Mohan Reddy had no experience and hence did not do anything on the water bodies. The Polavaram project was also neglected by the previous government, he said. The present government was working on restoring the Polavaram project, he added.
Chandrababu Naidu said that his government would start working on every irrigation project in the state. It would also come up with permanent plan to strengthen the Budameru bunds and ensure that such floods would not repeat in future. He said that he had asked the irrigation officials to prepare a plan to strengthen the Budameru bunds.
The present government would also take up maintenance works for every water body, including canals. He had asked the officials to give the present status report on every project. Once the report is ready, the government would start maintenance works, he said.
