Andhra Pradesh: Flood fear forces capital to uplands

Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government may go for land acquisition at higher levels as the first option to build its capital city around Vijayawada.

With experts warning that location of the river front capital without proper geological and related scientific studies may result in flooding, the government has asked District Collectors of Krishna and Guntur to identify high level land.

“The idea is to first opt for land located at higher levels than the low-lying areas, which are prone to inundation. We have asked officials to take the help of scientists concerned and satellite maps to identify areas above sea level and which are located at a higher level,” municipal minister Dr P. Narayana told this newspaper.

It may be mentioned that scientists have warned that a river front capital on the banks of the Krishna River without scientific study could lead to a repeat of the Srinagar like flooding of the proposed capital.

The government has not zeroed in on any village, mandal or historic site to build its capital city. Except the announcement made by Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu that the capital city will come up around VIjayawada due to its central location, no other issue relating to land has been finalised.

“The exact location of the capital city will depend on the land the government is able to get. We will convince farmers that they will benefit immensely under the land pooling system. Land acquisition will be the last resort,” the minister said and added the land pooling would be a transparent process.

Officials said several areas in and around Ibrahimpatnam, Kanchikacharla, Amaravati, Tadepalli and Tullur are prone to inundation.

Officials of the irrigation department are studying the pros and cons of constructing a retaining wall for Krishna River, if the capital is constructed on the river front.