Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday, September 6, inaugurated the Nellore and the Sangam barrages that brought a fresh lease of life to the Penna river canal system. The barrages were built at a cost of Rs 326 crore and would stabilise an ayacut of about 4.85 lakh acres. The Sangam Barrage has been named after former minister Mekapati Goutam Reddy who died after suffering a cardiac arrest in February this year. Sangam Barrage has an ayacut of 3.85 lakh acres under it, including 2.47 lakh acres under the Penna Delta.
In the 1880s, the then British rulers built an anicut each at Nellore and Sangam to meet the irrigational needs as well as drinking water supply to several mandals in Nellore district besides Nellore town. But the two structures outlived their utility, leaving the people longing for new barrages along with carriageways. In 2008, the then Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy launched the two new barrage works but they progressed at a slow pace. The current government, headed by his son YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, completed the projects.
The 1,195-metre Sangam Barrage has 79 crest gates and six scour sluice vents. The two-way road on the barrage would facilitate the smooth flow of traffic between Sangam and Podalakuru mandals. The banks of the river, running to a length of about 7 km, have also been strengthened as part of the project, according to officials of the State Water Resources Department. Two regulators have been built on the Kanigiri-Kavali and Kanupuru canals to ensure effective water supply to the ayacut.
The Nellore Barrage is built with 43 spillway gates and eight scour vents. It has the capacity to hold 0.45 thousand million cubic feet of water. The barrage has a 7.5-m carriageway for traffic flow. The Nellore Barrage has about 99,000 acres under its command while it is also the source of drinking water for citizens of Nellore city and 77 surrounding villages.
Responding to a request of Atmakuru MLA Mekapati Vikram Reddy, the Chief Minister agreed to sanction Rs 15 crore for the construction of a road connecting the Sangam Barrage with the National Highway-16. He sanctioned another Rs 40 crore for minor irrigational work in the region, Rs 14 crore for laying roads to 25 unconnected habitations and Rs 12 crore special grant for Atmakuru municipality. Besides, the Chief Minister sanctioned Rs 4 crore for a drinking water supply facility from the Sangam Barrage to the Sangam gram panchayat. Water Resources Minister Ambati Rambabu, Agriculture Minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy, MPs, legislators and senior officials attended the inaugural function of the barrages.