GUNTUR: The new barrage on Krishna river will connect Amaravati from Hyderabad-Vijayawada national highway of Krishna district. The Krishna flows east and turns to north side at Vykuntapuram hill and later returns eastward giving it the name: Uttaravahini. This east to north and back to east, twist is considered auspicious as per Hindu belief and Vastu. The state government which believes in Vastu, chose this place for the barrage that would come across Krishna between Vykuntapuram of Amaravati Capital Region and Damuluru of Krishna district. During heavy rains and floods, Krishna water goes unutilised into the Bay of Bengal from Prakasam Barrage. More than 11 tmc ft of floodwater flowed into the sea during the re-cent rains from Prakasam Barrage.
Earlier, there was no re-servoir between Nagarjunasagar and Prakasam Barrage, but now the Pulichintala project is storing 30 tmc ft of water and releasing excess water into the Krishna which reaches Prakasam barrage and goes waste into the sea due to the absence of storage facility. After announcing the new capital Amaravati on the banks of the Krishna, the Andhra Pradesh government planned to construct a barrage to store 5 tmc ft of water. But the plan was kept pending.
The Singaporean planners also suggested construction of bridges including a 3-km-long underwater tunnel on the Krishna between Vijayawada and old Amaravati in the Master Plan they drafted. The Andhra Pradesh government, noticing the water going waste into the sea, decided to construct a barrage across the Krishna river to store the water at Vykuntapuram which is treated as auspicious Uttaravahini.
Senior pundit P. Rama Sarma said the change of Krishna direction from east to north and then to east is auspicious as per Vastu and the construction of barrage at this juncture will be good for new capital Amaravati. The hilltop Venkateswara Swamy on the Krounchagiri hill of Vykuntapuram is Swayambh (self-manifested) and Amaravati would be blessed, he averred. Minister for irrigation, D. Umamaheswara Rao, citing the flow of water straight into the sea stressed the need for a barrage before Prakasam barrage and said that the government plan to construct a barrage to store water would be helpful for the growing water needs of Amaravati.
