Prime Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy laid the foundation stone on Wednesday for the construction of a 1.5 km long flood retaining wall next to the Krishna in Kanakadurga Varadhi in the city.
A pylon for this was unveiled by Mr. Jagan. Completion of the project would bring great relief to residents in the flood prone areas of Krishnalanka.
Ministers Velampalli Srinivasa Rao, Kodali Sri Venkateswara Rao, Perni Venkataramaiah, P. Anil Kumar Yadav, Mayor R. Bhagya Lakshmi, Collector A. Md. Imtiaz and VMC Commissioner V. Prasanna Venkatesh and others attended the ceremony.
The retaining wall project undertaken by the Department of Water Resources will protect over 3,000 households and 31,000 people living in lower-lying areas of Ranigari Thota, Bhupesh Gupta Nagar, Taraka Rama Nagar and Krishnalanka.
The project cost is estimated at £ 122.90. Over 524 houses and other buildings were relocated to pave the way for the construction of the wall. The wall will be raised more than two feet wide and 8.9 meters high. It can withstand 12 lakh cusecs of flood runoff from the Prakasam Barrage.