The Krishna delta faces water shortage for irrigation from June to August. Rayalaseema is also drought-prone. For this, a multi-purpose irrigation project called Polavaram Project was initiated. In this plan, the Polavaram dam is being constructed across the Godavari river. It is located between West Godavari District and East Godavari District. According to the final plan, water will be diverted from the Polavaram dam to drought-prone Rayalaseema region and to Krishna delta region. But the dam construction will take about five years. Therefore, the newly-inaugurated Rs 1,427-crore Pattiseema lift irrigation project was conceived in January last and expeditiously executed by Naidu. In this scheme, water will be pumped into the Polavaram canal to reach Prakasam barrage.

The Chief Minister said that Andhra Pradesh has created history by completing the Krishna-Godavari link project to divert water from river Godavari to Krishna in a record five-and-a-half months, after the Pattiseema lift irrigation project was conceived in January last. The work began on February 23. Water from Godavari is pumped to Krishna at Prakasham barrage. This is because the dam project will take about five years when the Polavaram project would fully link up both the rivers and use surplus water for both the delta region and Rayalaseema.

The current project will make the Rayalaseema district drought-proof and help the delta region which faces water shortage. The delta faces shortage from June to August for irrigation although 3,000 TMC of Godavari flood waters flow into the Bay of Bengal every year. To harness at least a portion of this, the multi- purpose irrigation project, Polavaram project, was launched by the Andhra Pradesh Government. Since the dam construction will take a few years, the Government recently decided to divert Godavari water from the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (PLIS) for the present. Now this arrangement has come through.

There was a trial run recently. On September 1, water from Godavari was released into the newly constructed Polavaram canal. After a distance of 174 km, it was to enter Krishna river at Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada on September 15. It had already come 124 km at Krishna delta region in the village of Pallerlamudi last week. Thousands of farmers and villagers welcomed the water with prayers. It was a trial run to check the Polavaram canal works.

Of the 80 TMC of Godavari water, 10 TMC will be diverted to domestic and industrial users in towns in Krishna and West Godavari districts and the rest will be used for irrigation in Krishna and West Godavari districts - enough to irrigate seven lakh acres of paddy lands. This will help save Krishna water which can be stored at Srisailam dam and supplied to the drought-prone Rayalaseema region.