YSR responsible for Pulichintala gate collapse, alleges TDP leader

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) politburo member Kalava Srinivasulu and Kurnool district president Somisetty Venkateswarlu on Friday lashed out at the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), alleging that the recent crest gate collapse at the Pulichintala project was the result of corruption resorted to by former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.

At a press conference here on Friday, the TDP leaders alleged that after the Congress government came to power in 2004, it launched the ‘Jalayagnam’ programme, under which the Pulichintala project was the first to be started. “The project was taken up by Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, and he had termed it his dream project and drew up the agreement in October, 2004. Work began in June 2005. However, the quality of the work was compromised by the introduction of the EPIC model – Engineering, Procurement, and Construction,” Mr. Srinivasulu alleged.

“The foundation was reduced by five metres instead of a concrete structure, and many portions were made of earthen soil,” the TDP leader said. In the main structure, in the 754 m span of the spillway, 33 gates were first proposed but later the number was reduced to 24, only to siphon money from the project,” the TDP leader alleged.

“The project gate broke and was washed away because of a lack of quality in work. About 34 tmcft of water has gone into the sea. Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy may not be personally responsible for this, but his father and other leaders at that time who compromised on the quality of work in order to secure commissions are responsible for what happened,” Mr. Srinivasulu alleged.

The TDP leader challenged the Irrigation Minister or the Chief Minister to a debate on the Pulichintala project. “The project was capable of storing only 10-15 tmcft of water, but over 40 tmcft of water was being stored just for the sake of publicity, which led to this incident,” he alleged.