Govt. committed to providing drinking water to people of Anantapur, says Minister

Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav on Sunday inaugurated the water treatment plant at Muddalapuram village of Kuderu mandal in Uravakonda Assembly constituency. The plant, which has a capacity to treat 16 million litres per day, was constructed at a cost of ₹15.35 crore using Central government funds under the AMRUT scheme.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Keshav said the State government is committed to providing potable drinking water to the people of the district in the summer. He appreciated the efforts of Anantapur Urban MLA Daggubati Venkateswara Prasad for assisting with the completion of the construction works.

Mr. Keshav said that unlike the previous YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government, which was confined to just the allocations of funds, their government translated words into deeds. Mr. Keshav said the NDA government had allocated ₹3,800 crore for widening and lining of Handri-Neeva canal in last year’s budget and had completed the works. He said the government is completing irrigation projects and is simultaneously taking steps to overcome the drinking water problems. The Finance Minister added that the government had allocated ₹700 crore for resolving the drinking water problem in Municipalities.

Mr. Keshav also said that they would complete Amaravati capital works and the Polavaram project apart from bringing investments to the State.

Anantapur MP Ambica Lakshminarayana said that the completion of the plant before summer would resolve the drinking water problem of the city. He said Union Urban Development Minister Manohar Lal Khattar is giving priority to development of Anantapur and this has been possible because of the ‘doube engine sarkar’ in the State.

Mr. Venkateswara Prasad said that the construction of the plant had started in 2017 with the support of then Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. However, its construction did not go ahead during the previous regime. “We have completed the construction of the plant in just 20 months and it has been inaugurated after conducting a trial run for three months. The people of the city will no longer have to face the drinking water problem,” he said.