Flood disaster in Budameru due to negligence of YSRCP government: Ramanaidu

Vijayawada: Nimmala Ramanaidu, Minister for Water Resources, criticised the previous YSRCP government for completely neglecting the irrigation sector and failing to plug the three breaches of the Budameru river, which had led to flooding of several areas of Vijayawada city following heavy rains.

Talking to reporters at the NTR district office on Monday, the minister recalled that the TDP government had earlier completed the work at Budameru to provide a flow of 35,000 cubic feet per second. But the YSRCP government completely neglected the maintenance work and now the flow has gone down to 15,000 cubic feet per second. He termed the breach at Budameru near Santinagar as a failure of the YSRCP government.

Ramanaidu said the state government has taken steps to repair the Budameru breaches. He said 75 per cent of the seepage at Krishna river dam near Mantena Asram has been resolved. He said the counterweight of the 69th gate of Prakasam dam was damaged when four boats crashed into the gate. The repair work is being done as per the suggestions of irrigation expert Kannaiah Naidu.

The minister said that due to the effective administration of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, the state government has been able to minimise the damage caused by heavy rains and floods. He condemned the false campaign of the YSRCP on the current flood situation.