Strengthening of Penna River flood wall essential: Nellore MP, MLA tell Amit Shah

Nellore MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy and Kovur MLA Vemireddy Prashanthi Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi and demanded modernization of flood walls in Vidavalur and Indukurpeta mandals to protect paddy fields in SPSR Nellore district from seasonal floods in Penna river.

Farmers affected by frequent floods along the banks of the Penna River are raising their voices, demanding a permanent solution.

Leaders put forward the need to strengthen existing walls and create new embankments where necessary to prevent the raging river from overflowing into adjacent fields during the monsoon season, thus eliminating the possibility of floods and preventing avoidable damage to crops.

It may be recalled that in November 2021, the release of excess water from Somasila reservoir into the Penna River resulted in many villages in Kovur constituency being submerged, submerging Buchireddypalem, Vidavalur, Kovur and Indukurpeta mandals in knee-deep water and life coming to a standstill for several days.

Recalling the nightmare experienced in her constituency in the past, Ms. Prashanthi Reddy emphasized the urgent need for ‘flood protection’ of the river environment.

Similarly, Mr. Prabhakar Reddy pointed out that the ancient Gandhi Ashram at Pallipadu, a monument built on the banks of the Penna river to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi’s visit to this small village as part of the Satyagraha movement, had suffered large-scale encroachment of up to 7.5 acres.

“The Ashram, hailed as the ‘Sabarmati of the South’, is today facing a struggle for existence,” the MP said in his statement to the Home Minister, calling for the construction of a retaining wall from the Ashram to Pallipadu village at an expenditure of 167 million rupees.

The leaders also demanded center to create flood wall in Indukurpeta Mandal at a cost of ₹ 69 crore and Vidavalur Mandal at a cost of ₹ 95 crore.

Mr Shah reportedly assured the duo to undertake the said works under the National Disaster Management Authority.