Tue Feb 04 13:29:59 UTC 2025: **Handri-Neeva Canal Capacity Increase Demanded in Andhra Pradesh**
ANANTAPUR, Andhra Pradesh – CPI state secretary K. Ramakrishna led a protest on Tuesday demanding that the Andhra Pradesh government increase the capacity of the Handri-Neeva canal. The protest, organized by a joint forum of political parties, farmers, and civil society groups, calls for expanding the canal’s capacity to 10,000 cusecs.
This increase, according to Ramakrishna, is crucial to irrigate the intended 6 lakh acres of land and provide drinking water to the drought-prone region. He criticized the government for failing to deliver on the project’s promise, made 30 years ago, to provide irrigation to the area. He alleged that a proposed canal lining project is primarily aimed at benefitting Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s constituency, Kuppam, rather than addressing the urgent needs of the farmers in Rayalaseema and Anantapur district. Ramakrishna insisted that capacity enhancement should precede lining works to ensure equitable water distribution.
First Piper 