Rayagada, Nov 11: Andhra Pradesh government is all set to build an irrigation project in the Nagavali River as soon as possible. Andhra Pradesh Hydrology department has initiated the second-round survey for the project.

Sources said, Andhra Pradesh government is going to set up a mega-irrigation project in the Nagavali at  Kotu under Vijayanagaram district, as promised before the current gram panchayat election. After the feasibility study, the water resources department of Andhra has taken up the second-round survey of the project.

The proposed site is 7 kilometers away from the Odisha border where a barrage has been proposed to irrigate over 7000 hectares of land.

If the dam is constructed at the proposed site, three blocks including Rayagada and Kalyanpur will be the worst affected. At least 50 percent of families living near the catchment will face flash floods and inundation. At the same time a large number of villages will be submerged in the dam.

On the other hand, the farmers of Rayagada will face acute water scarcity for their lands as Andhra’s dam will reserve lion’s share of the Nagavali water resources in the upper end.