Naidu inaugurates first phase of Veligonda irrigation project

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated the first phase of the long-awaited Poola Subbaiah Veligonda irrigation project on Monday, August 31, 2026, marking the fulfillment of a three-decade promise to bring water to the drought-prone regions of the state. The ceremony, held in Gantavanipalli village of Prakasam district, involved the formal release of Krishna river waters into the Nallamala Sagar reservoir. The project, first conceived when Naidu laid its foundation stone on March 5, 1996, as Chief Minister of the undivided state, is designed to divert water from the Srisailam reservoir through gravity-fed tunnels.