The delay in commissioning of the Kandula Obula Reddy Gundlakamma project has irked people of Prakasam district as they were hoping to get irrigation and potable water from the reservoir. It was one of the three irrigation projects started in Prakasam district under Jalayagnam and was constructed by spending Rs 453.86 crore. It is slated to give irrigation water to 80,060 acres of land. Apart from this, it was also expected to provide potable water to 2.56 lakh people of 43 villages of 6 mandals. The authorities planned to release water for 30,000 acres initially. However, the project, which swiftly started after the Congress government assumed power, has not yet become operational and the formal opening was postponed three times. The Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, announced on April 27 that Annangi, Anamanamuru, Manikeswaram, Timmareddy palli, Dhenuvukonda, and Yarrabalem villages would be partially submerged by the project. This has raised fresh hopes that water would be released from the project at least for next cultivation season. Similarly, the Veligonda project which is meant to be completed by March 2009 was started with an estimated cost of Rs 3,460 crore. It is meant to provide irrigation water to 4.38 lakh of acres of farmlands and drinking water for 15 lakh people of chronically drought prone areas of Prakasam, Kadapa and Nellore districts. The project will benefit 29 mandals including Markapuram, Darsi, Cumbam, Giddalur and Kanigiri. Works are expected to be speeded up with the arrival of the tunnel boring machine to dig the tunnel for the reservoir in the Nallamalla forest. "We have spent Rs 889 crores on this project and hope to complete it by the stipulated time," said the district collector, Mr K. Devanand. The Magunta Subbarami Reddy Ramateertham balancing reservoir is also very near to completion and Rs 39 crore out of stipulated Rs 43 crore has been spent for this project, he said. Another new reservoir on Paleru will irrigate 9,500 acres of land and the Yerram China Polireddy lift irrigation project at Korisapadu will irrigate 20,000 acres of lands. However, the Telugu Desam district president and the Addanki MLA, Mr Karanam Balram Krishna Murthy, said that all the projects were started by his party and Congress was misleading the people. "All these projects will be good for the district but we want authorities to launch the Gundlakamma project immediately so that we will get water," said Mr H. Dhanunjaya Rao, a native of Ongole. "We get water only once in three days now."