YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leaders from Rayalaseema on Thursday (February 05, 2026) demanded that the State government complete Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation (RLI) Project at any cost and announced that a sustained people’s movement will continue until works resume.
Speaking at the “Chalo Pothireddypadu” meeting at Pothulapadu village in Nandikotkur, the YSRCP leaders and farmer groups from Rayalaseema, Nellore, and Prakasam said that halting the project risks turning Rayalaseema into a desert and jeopardising the region’s future. They vowed to take awareness to every village, expose alleged conspiracies against Rayalaseema, and build wider political unity to pressure the government, warning of political consequences for TDP in the region if the project remains stalled.
YSRCP State coordinator Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy termed the stoppage a grave injustice to the drought-prone Rayalaseema and its farmers. He asked why Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu did not respond to his Telangana counterpart A. Revanth Reddy’s remarks about the project. He said lack of sincerity on RLI would lead to Chandrababu Naidu’s political downfall and stressed that Rayalaseema, like Telangana, must access Srisailam water at the 800-foot level.
He reiterated that assured irrigation and drinking water are the basis of real development, a vision earlier pursued by former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, and said that RLI is the only lasting solution to the region’s water distress.
Speakers recalled that late Rajasekhara Reddy had laid the foundation for development of irrigation through Pothireddypadu, Handri-Neeva and Galeru-Nagari, and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy accelerated works.
Published – February 05, 2026 08:40 pm IST
