Balineni dares Chandrababu Naidu over Veligonda project

Kanigiri: The YSR Congress Party leaders in Prakasam district launched Praja Padayatra, along with former Ongole MP YV Subba Reddy in the western area of the district, demanding that the government complete the Veligonda project to save the thousands of people suffering from fluoride and kidney related ailments.

The padayatra for 207 km was launched at Kanigiri on Wednesday and will go through the Assembly constituencies of Kanigiri, Giddalur, Darsi, Yerragondapalem, Markapuram and ends at Veligonda project after 15 days.

Speaking at the public meeting in Kanigiri on Wednesday, Subba Reddy said that the district is not developed though it was formed 49 years ago. He said that 10 lakhs people out of 33 lakhs population are migrating to other places means that the fruits of freedom not reached the poor here.

He claimed that 70 per cent of Veligonda project works were completed during YS Rajasekhara Reddy regime and alleged that the present TDP government had failed to complete at least three km of the tunnel.

Party district president Balineni Srinivasa Reddy announced that he will tonsure his head if the government provides water through the Veligonda project by Sankranti. He said that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has no commitment towards the project and that is why he didn’t start any works though he laid the foundation stone for it in 1996.

Markapuram MLA Janke Venkata Reddy said that Chandrababu Naidu is postponing the completion of project for the last four years and announced that he quit politics if the government supplies water through the project by January 2019.

Political secretary to YS Jaganmohan Reddy Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, Santhanutalapadu MLA Adimulapu Suresh and other leaders also participated in the meeting and padayatra.