Andhra Pradesh minister for water resources, Nimmala Rama Naidu, on Wednesday alleged that former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy was responsible for floods to Vijayawada city. He alleged that Jagan Mohan Reddy did not take care of the development works or maintenance works for the water bodies, including Budameru rivulet.
The Minister said that the previous TDP government had started the Budameru development works in 2018. Funds were also allocated for the works in the 2018-19 budget, the minister said. However, Jagan Mohan Reddy, who came to power in 2019 did not continue the works, the minister said.
The minister also said that in 2020 Jagan Mohan Reddy government stopped 198 irrigation works including five works related to Budameru rivulet. He said that chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu had completed 80 per cent of the Budameru Diversion Channel works before 2019. Jagan Mohan Reddy should have continued the programme, he felt. However, with Jagan Mohan Reddy stopping the works, there were breaches to the Budameru bunds, the minister said.
Rama Naidu said that Jagan Mohan Reddy had no right to speak about Budameru or floods to Vijayawada. The government had worked for ten days in the water, the minister said. He further said that Ministers, MLAs, MLCs, MPs and several leaders were in the waters for eight days. They all monitored the relief works, he said.
However, Jagan Mohan Reddy had visited two areas for two days and started accusing the government. He also said that Jagan Mohan Reddy was sitting in Bengaluru and criticizing the government. He wanted Jagan Mohan Reddy to visit Vijayawada and see what the government is doing and what it had done in the last ten days.
He blamed Jagan Mohan Reddy for leaving three boats in the flood waters. He said that the three boats weighting 120 tons have hit the counter weight of the Prakasam Barrage gates. Three gates were damage because of the boats hit them, he said. Had the boats hit the barrage pillars or the structure, the damage would have been more, the minister asserted.
