Why is Naidu obsessed with Banakacherla project, asks Sharmila

Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Y.S. Sharmila on Thursday slammed Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for “his obsession with the Polavaram-Banakacherla link project,” especially when it was being widely opposed.

“Intellectuals in the State are voicing their objection, professors from the Rayalaseema region say the proposal is unfeasible, and engineers argue that the project, costing over ₹1 lakh crore, offers no real benefit,” Ms. Sharmila said on X.

Even the Polavaram Project Authority had said the Banakacherla proposal undermined the core Polavaram project, she said, and asked if Mr. Naidu was out to sabotage Polavaram for his personal interests. “Is that why the Polavaram project’s height has been reduced?” she asked. Instead of thinking about the rightful share of the Krishna and Tungabhadra waters that would go to Rayalaseema, why was Mr. Naidu taking the roundabout route, she wondered.