Southern States - Andhra Pradesh   

A.P. farmers clash over anicut closure

By Our Staff Reporter

KURNOOL JULY 4. The row over closing of hume pipes in the Rajolibanda anicut across the Tungabhadra turned violent on Friday with farmers from Mahabubnagar and Kurnool districts throwing stones at each other. Scores of people were hurt in the clash. While the RDS canal farmers closed the pipes in the morning, their Kurnool counterparts reopened them by evening.

The farmers from Gadwal and Alampur constituencies in Mahabubnagar district gathered at the head sluice of RDS canal, located near Rajoli village in Karnataka, in large number and started closing the pipes. The contention of the RDS farmers was that because of the hume pipes, which discharged about 300 cusecs into the river, the head sluice of the canal was unable to draw water and insisted upon their closure.

Farmers from Kurnool side gathered at the southern end of the anicut, located in Kurnool district, to scuttle the plan of RDS farmers. Their grouse was that if the pipes were closed, the two pumping schemes located a few furlongs below the anicut would be deprived of water during lean season. Now the entire flow in the river, which was about 200 cusecs, was through the pipes. The disputed spot where the pipes are located in the anicut falls under the jurisdiction of the Kurnool police. After curtailing the flow the RDS farmers reached the hume pipes when the mob from Kurnool side surged forward and started throwing stones. As tempers ran high, both sides fought pitched battles raining stones at each other for about 15 minutes. Several persons, including some journalists, sustained minor injuries. One farmer, identified as Venkataswami, sustained a bleeding injury in the head.

A small contingent of the police force, led by the Yemmiganur Inspector, Sambasiva Rao, had a tough time controlling the warring mobs. Some policemen were hit by flying stones.

Our Correspondent in Mahabubnagar writes: About 50 farmers, including the APCC joint secretary, D.K. Aruna, the Telugu Desam Party ZPTC member from Aiza, Tirumala Reddy, and Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS) distributary committee president, Sitarama Reddy, were injured when farmers of Kurnool district attacked Mahabubnagar farmers.

Two farmers — Pula Ranganna, an MPTC member, and Chandrasekhar Reddy — were shifted to Manvi Hospital near Raichur in Karnataka.

The Kurnool police opened two rounds of fire to disperse the farmers on both sides. The Superintendents of Police of both the districts rushed to the spot on receipt of information.

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