Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said he would complete the Veligonda and Pattiseema projects at any cost and provide water for drinking and agriculture purposes. He addressed a public meeting at Seelamvaripalle in Prakasam district on Friday as a part of Janmabhoomi-Maa Vooru programme.

Naidu said, “With the GO No 22, I have ordered all contractors to complete the pending projects on war footing. I promised to compensate the loss, if any, due to inflation. The west Prakasam district faces severe water problem for which the Veligonda project is the only solution. I have verified the works of the project recently and ordered for the completion of the first phase as early as possible. When the second phase is also completed, there would be no water problem forever in Kanigiri division."

The Chief Minister said his political opponents were creating hurdles in the way of completing the project by blackmailing him. "They do not want to complete the projects and are trying to blackmail me. If Pattiseema is completed, the Godavari waters can be sent to Rayalaseema through Prakasam and Nellore districts. With those projects, the fluoride and drought problem in the district would be completely eradicated.

I warn those who are trying to create hurdles in completing the projects that they cannot stop me from achieving the target."The Chief Minister expressed dissatisfaction over the failure of officers to complete the Neeru-Chettu programme in Prakasam district. He took the officers of RWS, Engineering, Agriculture and Panchayat Raj departments to task. He said Prakasam district would get a NIMS-like hospital in Kanigiri and industrial corridor in Donakonda. A solar hub would also come up in Kanigiri soon.

The Chief Minister said every family should win over poverty and there should be no poor family in the State. He suggested that there should be least one member from every poor family in the DWCRA groups. He said, "It is my aim to train ordinary people and turn them into extra ordinary people. I have started the DWCRA groups for women empowerment and ensure their financial stability. At present, there are 90 lakh DWCRA members in the State and they have about Rs 4,500 crore as savings in their accounts.

In this one year, we have given them Rs 10,000 crore as principal fund.  As the banks give loans up to 8 times the savings amount, with Rs 14,500 crore in their accounts, they can take 1 lakh crore as loan and lead their lives from poverty to fortune." The police arrested nine of the victims of the Agrigold, who reached the venue to seek justice from the Chief Minister, before his helicopter landed in Seelamvaripalle.