AP: Polavaram Right Canal breaches in WG district; Cong fumes

The newly-constructed Polavaram Right Canal suffered a breach in Andhra Pradesh's West Godavari district, following which the Congress today demanded the state Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to break his silence on the issue.
"The Chief Minister should break his silence on the breach of the Polavaram Right Canal and constitute an inquiry committee to assess the facts of the construction works for the canal," Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) spokesperson Kolanudonda Shivaji said.
Shivaji also demanded the resignation of state Water Resources Minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao for "faulty construction work on the Polavaram Right Canal".
The work on the Polavaram Right Canal, which is a part of the Godavari-Krishna link, was completed within a short period of only six months. Water from Godavari river was on Friday released from Pattiseema through lift irrigation. But, the canal breached at Thammileru aqueduct on Saturday evening.

An APCC fact-finding committee from Vijayawada, under the leadership of Shivaji, today visited the breach point and examined the construction work. The committee members also interacted with the local farmers.
Shivaji said that the state government spent about Rs 1200 crore for the construction of the canal but the work done was sub-standard. He further alleged that the engineers did not follow the set norms in the construction, due to pressure from Umamaheswara Rao.
He reiterated his demand of white paper on the construction work of the canal from the state government.