Naidu to lay foundation stone of NW-4’s Krishna river stretch

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu will on Tuesday lay the foundation stone for development of the Mukhtyala-to-Vijayvada stretch of Krishna River, which is part of National Waterway-4, an official said on Monday.

According to the government, work for development of the 82-km stretch has already commenced and dredging began in the shallow areas in May 2017. The work is expected to be completed by June 2019.

"The project will provide an efficient logistics solution to boost the economic growth of the region and facilitate the development of the capital city Amravati during its early development stage as substantial construction material is expected to be transported on this stretch of National Waterway-4," said an official statement.

National Waterway-4 was declared in November 2008 for a total length of 1,078 km. Its length was extended to 2,890 km by the National Waterways Act, 2016.

Its stretches are included in River Godavari (Bhadrachalam to Rajahmundry) - 171 km, River Krishna (Wazirabad to Vijayawada) - 157 km, Kakinada Canal (Kakinada to Rajahmundry) - 50 km and Eluru Canal (Rajahmundry to Vijayawada) - 139 km.

Other stretches are Commamur Canal (Vijayawada to Pedaganjam) - 113 km, North Buckingham Canal (Pedaganjam to Chennai) - 316 km, South Buckingham Canal (Chennai to Merkanam) - 110 km and Kaluvelly Tank (Markanam to Puducherry) - 22 km.

The extended sections are River Krishna from Wazirabad to Galagali (628 km) and River Godavari from Bhadrachalam to Nasik (1,184 km).

Naidu will also inaugurate approximately 415 km of the National Highways projects worth Rs 1,928.46 crore and lay the foundation stone for another 250 km NH projects worth Rs 2,539.08 crore.

Union Minister for Road, Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu will also be present on the occasion.