Proposed YSR park faces water scarcity

The officials are at their wits’ ends to provide water for the YSR memorial park at Nallamala forest. None of the three bore wells dug so far has yielded any water. Incidentally, YSR is known as a modern day Bhagiratha for taking up all pending irrigation works under the Jalayagnam scheme.

The state government had sanctioned the Dr YSR Smruthi Vanam Project to be taken up by the forest department at a cost of Rs 13 crore in two stages. The location of the park is on the Atmakur-Nandyala route and stage-I works are now continuing at a brisk pace to meet the inauguration deadline of September 2, coinciding with the first death anniversary of YSR.

“We were facing a major problem in getting water for the project as the three borewells did not yield any water. Thanks to the recent rains, we have some water in the borewells,” the project officer of the park, Mr Chandramohan Reddy, said.

Project officials are clueless about this peculiar problem of water shortage as the area is adjacent to the Nallamala forest and a large irrigation dam, Velugodu, is nearby. Mr Reddy said that the assumption of many people that the YSR Park would destroy the ecology of the region and the constructions would hamper the movements of wild life in the area was baseless.

“We are not taking up any activity at Pavuralagutta. The park is situated 20 km away from the site. Even movement of people is prohibited in the core area of the Gundla Bhrahm-eswaram Wildlife Sanctuary,” Mr Reddy added.

According to the official, the park will enhance the forest restoration and habitat improvement. “The ecology of the Nallamala forest will be highlighted for the first time as there is no documentation of this famous forest range,” Mr Reddy said.