Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy speaking at a public meeting at Narsapuram in West Godavari district on Monday.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
PHOTOS IN NICA IN KAKINADA
The Godavari river water would be purified at Vijjeswaram point and pumped through a drinking water pipeline system to provide safe drinking water to 18.50 lakh people covering 1,178 villages in the Godavari and Krishna regions of the State, said Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy after laying the foundation stone for a ₹1,400-crore Godavari water grid project here on Monday.
People of 26 mandals will directly get access to safe drinking water through the water grid project, he said at a public meeting where he also laid the foundation for various other projects.
Many villages in the Krishna-Godavari basin were struggling to access safe drinking water to due to high salinity level in the groundwater source and contamination of surface water sources due to thriving aquaculture practices. “I have observed the water woes in the Godavari region and parts of Krishna district. The aquaculture has affected the surface water quality. The salinity level in the groundwater is also to be blamed for poor access to safe drinking water,” he said.
The areas to be served by the water grid project are Nidadavolu, Tanuku, Achanta, Palakollu, Narsapuram, Bhimavaram, Vundi, Unguturu, Eluru and Tadepalligudem Assembly segments in the Godavari region and Krithivennu, Bantumillii, Gudlavalleru and Pedana segments in the Krishna region.
