Pipeline connectivity to enable Vizag source water from Polavaram Project

The Andhra Pradesh government previously stated that Visakhapatnam will be spruced up along with infrastructural upgrades in the past. In the latest, the state government has approved the plan to supply the city’s water needs from Polavaram. Through the new pipelines, Visakhapatnam (rural and urban) and East Godavari districts are set to be supplied with water from the Polavaram pipeline project. Authorities have stated that this would be a good long-term plan, as the city’s population could increase in the future, when it would start functioning as Andhra Pradesh’s executive capital.

Speaking to Yo! Vizag about the local body’s plans for the city, Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) Chief Engineer M Venkateswara Rao said, “The GVMC has contacted a consultancy based in Hyderabad to prepare the Detailed Project Report for this project. Once the first draft is ready, the internal team of engineers, irrigation and finance department officials and others would go over the findings and give our suggestions based on a variety of factors. The consultancy will then go ahead and create the second draft of the DPR. We are expecting the first draft to be prepared in six months’ time.”

The chief engineer also stated that the initial plan for Vizag was to supply water from Yeluru reservoir. “However, honourable Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy stated that sourcing from Polavaram would be a more ideal choice for the long term. The consultancy in charge of making the DPR is already on the job – this would cost the state around Rs. 1.8 crore. The consultancy was chosen out of four tenders that had filed tenders for the project,” said Mr. M Venkateswara Rao. The DPR will consist of specific information like how to align the project and which areas would be affected during the process after a comprehensive survey. :