Overview
- Mr Naidu announced on Saturday that Phase‑I of the long‑pending Veligonda project will be inaugurated and water released on August 31 to irrigate about 1.19 lakh acres and supply drinking water to roughly 4 lakh people.
- He handed over a third instalment of ₹250 crore to displaced families, bringing total disbursements to ₹768 crore for 6,206 families with about ₹132 crore still to be paid.
- The chief minister said Godavari water will reach Anakapalli through the Polavaram left canal in the first week of September and that this flow will be used to fill local ponds and strengthen supplies.
- Naidu defended large data‑centre investments, saying all centres together would need about 3.5 TMC of water, that construction on the reported Google project has not progressed much, and that data hubs will create jobs and AI skills.
- He framed the Veligonda and Polavaram moves as part of a wider plan to build a 10,000‑acre industrial township with port and airport links, a proposed Skill University, and state cleanliness and waste‑management drives to boost local livelihoods.