Jagan inaugurates third unit of Sri Damodaram Sanjeevaiah thermal power station

Nellore: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday dedicated to the nation the third unit of the Sri Damodaram Sanjeevaiah Thermal Power Station (SDSTP) at Nelaturu that would supply 19 million units of power to the AP grid daily.

Addressing a public meeting, the Chief Minister described it as a step forward in power generation in the state and said he was blessed to dedicate to the nation the 800 MW unit for which the foundation stone was laid by his father, late Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, in 2008.

Compensation to farmers

Thanking the farmers for sacrificing their lands for the thermal power station and the Krishna Patnam port, he distributed compensation to the tune of Rs. 35.74 crores to 16,128 farmer-families by pressing the button and facilitating the direct transfer of funds to their bank accounts.

Referring to the long wait of farmers who sacrificed their lands, the Chief Minister said the TDP regime subjected them to a plethora of difficulties while paying Rs. 14,000 each to 3,500 farmers. Besides paying them the remaining amount, he said his government is pleased to pay full compensation to the remaining 12,787 farmer-families, taking their total number to 16,128.

The Chief Minister further said that while 326 families were already provided employment, orders were issued to provide employment to another 150 families in the second phase before November end.

New unit to benefit many

He said the 800 MW unit, an extension of the existing two units, was built with Super Critical Technology (SCT) by APGENCO, the first-of-its-kind in the country, and would help in less consumption of coal besides contributing to reducing pollution.

He said the dedicated unit, for which Rs. 3200 crores were allotted after YSRCP came to power, would cater to the increasing demands of energy in housing, commercial, and industrial sectors besides supplying power to the agricultural sector to meet the 9-hour free supply of power daily.

While 45% of the energy demand in the state is being met by APGENCO-generated power, the third unit will supply 19 million units of power to the AP grid daily.

Sanctions for various projects

At the request of party MLA Nallapureddy Prasanna Kumar Reddy, the Chief Minister sanctioned Rs. 93 crores for constructing a submersible check dam over the Penna river to prevent back water accumulations and supply water to four mandals in the district. He also renamed the recently inaugurated Nellore Barrage as Nallapureddy Srinivasa Reddy Barrage.

Earlier, he laid the foundation stone for a fishing jetti at Nelaturu village that would be constructed at a cost of Rs. 25 crores to facilitate the docking of 450 fishing boats.

In response to the appeal made by the minister for agriculture and cooperation, Kakani Govardhana Reddy, earlier, the Chief Minister sanctioned Rs. 21. 40 crores for development works in Sarvepalli constituency.