Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said the long-awaited Velugonda project will usher in a new phase of development in the drought-prone regions of Prakasam. In a post on X, the Chief Minister said a commitment he made three decades ago to transform the lives of people in the erstwhile Prakasam district has finally been fulfilled.Naidu announced that Velugonda Phase-I will be inaugurated on August 31, marking what he described as a historic milestone. He said 10.7 TMC of water will be released into Nallamala Sagar on the occasion.Recalling the project’s origins, the Chief Minister said he had laid the foundation stone for the Velugonda project on March 5, 1996, when he was Chief Minister of the undivided Andhra Pradesh. Thirty years later, he said, he would inaugurate the same project.Velugonda Phase-I will provide irrigation water to 1.19 lakh acres, while Phase-II is expected to cover another 3.283 lakh acres. The project will also provide drinking water to lakhs of people in the region, offering relief to communities that have faced drought for generations.“Velugonda will become a beacon of development for drought-hit Markapur,” Naidu said, highlighting the project’s potential to transform agriculture and livelihoods.The Chief Minister also assured people in western Prakasam that the government would provide safe drinking water through household tap connections, aiming to permanently address the region’s long-standing fluoride problem.The NDA government in the State is taking several measures to accelerate economic development in the region. He announced plans to invest ₹1 lakh crore to develop Rayalaseema and the erstwhile Prakasam district as horticulture hubs. He cited the national highways and port infrastructure, including the Bengaluru–Amaravati highway and Ramayapatnam Port, as key drivers of future trade and industrial growth.“Every farmer should have water for his fields, every youth should have employment and every family should have security,” Naidu said, describing these goals as the core of his vision.He said the government was bringing Krishna waters from the Srisailam region to Markapur with the objective of transforming people’s lives, eliminating backwardness and creating new opportunities for the region.Published on August 25, 2026