Jagan Accuses Naidu of Claiming Credit for Polavaram Canal Works

Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, president of the YSR Congress Party, has contested the current state government's attribution of irrigation infrastructure development, stating that the majority of the Polavaram Left Main Canal works were executed when his party was in power in Andhra Pradesh.

According to Reddy, approximately 79% of the left main canal construction was completed during the YSRCP's tenure in office. He further claimed that the Purushothapatnam lift scheme was constructed during the period when his father, former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, headed the state government.

The YSRCP leader also alleged that infrastructure work undertaken between 2014 and 2019 had compromised the structural integrity of the Polavaram dam itself. Reddy contended that spillway and cofferdam works carried out during that period had damaged the dam's foundations, raising questions about the quality of construction oversight during that phase.

The dispute underscores ongoing political tensions in Andhra Pradesh regarding the state's flagship Polavaram irrigation project, which has been a focal point of development efforts aimed at improving water management and agricultural productivity in the region.