Kothacheruvu / Nallamada

SriSathya Sai District Collector Shyam Prasad and Puttaparthi MLA Palle Sindhura Reddy on Friday laid the foundation stone for a permanent integrated drinking water project worth ₹136.26 crore, aiming to permanently resolve the long-term water scarcity of the Puttaparthi constituency.

The mega-infrastructure project, sanctioned for Puttaparthi Municipality, will be built near the Bukkapatnam tank with financial backing from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and executed under the supervision of Jindal Water Works.

Former minister Palle Raghunatha Reddy attended the event as the chief guest.

Speaking at the launch, Collector Shyam Prasad emphasized that the project is designed with a future-ready vision to meet the drinking water needs of an estimated population of nearly two lakh people up to the year 2055.

The scheme will feature a massive storage capacity of 90 lakh litres and is expected to be fully completed by May 2028, delivering safe drinking water to local households through 11,700 new tap connections.

The Collector further revealed that the state government has sanctioned nearly ₹1,000 crore for various municipal water projects across the district, alongside a ₹1.50-crore sewage treatment plant to protect the Chitravathi River from pollution.

MLA Palle Sindhura Reddy stated that the coalition government revived the long-pending project immediately after assuming office.

She added that major industrial projects, including a proposed ₹51,400-crore Reliance solar power plant in Amadagur mandal and a fighter aircraft manufacturing unit in Puttaparthi, would soon create large-scale employment opportunities for local youth.

Following the ceremony, the officials held a public grievance redressal drive at Nallamada, focusing on land disputes. Out of 115 petitions received from Nallamada and Puttaparthi mandals, 42 long-pending grievances were resolved on the spot by a high-level administrative team.