GUNTUR: Stating that mega river-linking project taken up by the state government is going to be the game-changer for the development, chief minister Chandrababu Naidu asserted that they will complete nearly 40 major irrigation projects by December. He said that the government is spending close to Rs.57000 crore to complete the ongoing irrigation projects to help provide water to each and every cultivable land in the state.Chief minister inaugurated the 100-beded super-specialty Dhulipalla Veeraiah Chowdary (DVC) hospital constructed by Sangam Dairy near Chebrolu village on the outskirts of Guntur on Tuesday. Ponnur legislator and Sangam dairy chairman Dhulipalla Narendra Kumar presided over the session.Addressing the farmers, chief minister said that they were inching closer to realize his dream of linking five major rivers-Vamsadhara, Nagavali Godavari , Krishna and Penna. “We have readied blue-print to bring another 2 crore acres of land into cultivation by completing the river linkage and irrigation projects in all the regions,” he claimed. He said that farmers in Krishna and Guntur districts were happy just because they have completed the Pattiseema lift irrigation scheme.He said that they have completed the linkage of Godavari-Krishna through Pattiseema and readying two more barrages to link Krishna and Penna. He said that their perfect management of water releases had helped them save standing crops in Rayalaseema region where many mandals were facing drought conditions. He said that they were ready to release water under all the projects and reservoirs during the current season. He said that completion of Polavaram project would itself transform the state’s fortunes as it was going to help the government manage the water needs of farmers in all the three regions. He, however, said that effective governance could be reflected in the field level only when there is strong leadership at the field.Chief minister, however, suggested the farmers to adopt innovative measures to make farming remunerative. He said that farmers should also concentrate on dairy and poultry in order to improve the revenues. He said that additional revenues generated through milk and poultry production will off-set the losses incurred in the sale of agriculture commodities during the adverse market conditions. Chief minister lauded the services of MLA Narendra for helping farmers get good revenues. He said that leaders like Narendra are crucial to strengthen the party.The Andhra CM said that the stateis the only state to achieve double-digit growth in agriculture sector. He said that they have achieved nearly 17 percent growth rate in agriculture and allied sectors while the country’s growth rate is just around 3 percent. MP Galla Jayadev, government whip Peyyavula Kesava, food commission chairman JR Pushparaj, district collector Kona Sasidhar were also present.

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