Farmers and elected reps took a celebratory dunking in the water as the Godavari entered, a bit notionally, Krishna district at the village of Pallerlamudi on the way to her tryst with her sister river. The interlinking of the Godavari and the Krishna, a pet project of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, is thus one step closer to reality.

Irrigation Minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, Eluru MP Maganti Babu, Denduluru MLA Chintamaneni Prabhakar and others performed special pujas on the banks of the Polavaram Right Main Canal at the village. “It’s a long-pending dream and it is finally going to be realised,” said Mr. Umamaheshwara Rao.

However, the events of the day were a bit notional. With the Pattiseema project still to receive its pumps from China, Irrigation Department officials released about 6000 cusecs of the Godavari’s water stored in the Tadipudi Lift Irrigation Project in West Godavari into the Polavaram Right Main Canal. The borrowed water flowed 130 km to reach the edge of Krishna district at Pellarlamudi village on Wednesday. Officials said the water will reach the Prakasam barrage on the Krishna river in three to four days via the Budameru and NTTPS canals. Addressing media persons later in the evening, Mr. Umamaheshwara Rao said the Chief Minister would operate the first pump of the Pattiseema project on September 16 following the successful interlinking of the state’s two signature rivers at the Prakasam Barrage. Likewise, he will also launch the Thotapally project in Vizianagaram district on Thursday and dedicate it to the people, he added.

Interlinking of the rivers, a pet project of Naidu, is one step closer to reality