Chandrababu Naidu meets PM Modi, seeks national water grid by interlinking rivers

New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu made a strong pitch with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the creation of a national water grid by initiating river interlinking as he flagged drought conditions in his state on Thursday.

Naidu, whose TDP provides crucial support to the BJP-led government with its 16 MPs, met Modi on Thursday and briefed him about the El Nino effect on his state and the prevalent drought conditions. He discussed the latest status of the Polavaram project and assured the PM that the project would be inaugurated in March 2027. Naidu told Modi that a river interlinking project would ensure adequate water availability to the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. He said that road networks and power grids had been developed across the country under NDA governments and that the river-linking project could pave the way for the creation of a national water grid.

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Earlier, Naidu addressed a curtain-raiser event for the upcoming investor summit at Visakhapatnam next month. He said the southern states could focus on development if the water problems are addressed. "If we link five rivers - Godavari, Krishna, Tungabhadra, Penna and Cauvery - across four states, all problems will be sorted out. State-wise, if you see - Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu - water problems will be sorted with this project. Right now, there are water wars," said Naidu.

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He informed the PM that Andhra had recorded 53% deficit rainfall due to El Nino impact which had severely affected the agriculture sector. He sought the Centre's support for major infrastructure projects in Andhra Pradesh. He requested approval for the Visakhapatnam Metro and briefed the PM on the proposed Beach Road project.