Jagan should study the way civilisations flourished along rivers in the world, says Chandrababu Naidu

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has fumed at YSRCP president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy for trying to create suspicions in the minds of the public about the construction of capital city Amaravati, saying that the former Chief Minister has exposed his lack of understanding how civilisations originated and flourished along river basins around the world.

Major cities, including New Delhi, London etc, had developed tremendously over the years due to their location along the banks of rivers, Mr. Naidu said during an informal chat with the media persons at the TDP central office, near Mangalagiri, on Saturday.

Mr. Naidu said Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy should study the likes of Indus Valley Civilisation before casting aspersions on Amaravati.

“The YSRCP chief does not even know the difference between a river bed and river basin, but he keeps up his vicious propaganda against Amaravati,” Mr. Naidu said.

Further, the Chief Minister said the Telugu people would be ones who would lose if Andhra Pradesh and Telangana fought over the sharing of river waters, and emphasised that the Telugu-speaking States would prosper by properly utilising the surplus waters.

“Is it wrong to strive for the well-being of the two States,” Mr. Naidu wondered, while expressing his resolve to amicably settle the disputes.

Mr. Naidu said the Rayalaseema region became a horticulture hub due to the Pattiseema project, which was often mocked by the YSRCP. The Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation project was stalled during the YSRCP regime (in 2020) because of vested interests, he said, and vowed not to compromise on the State’s rightful share of river waters.

Plans were made to end the water shortages in Andhra Pradesh in the next two years by focusing on the speedy completion of pending irrigation projects, he added, suggesting that Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy should get a grasp of the concept of inter-linking of rivers before spreading disinformation.