The Congress is against the shifting (diversion) of Eluru Canal by 13.5 km to facilitate expansion of the Gannavaram airport.
APCC vice-president and former Minister Devineni Rajasekhar said that the State government, which came to power predominantly on the votes of farmers, was giving little respect to their problems. He said that the Airports Authority of India initially suggested that it was enough to shift the Eluru Canal by 6 km, but the Telugu Desam government had come up with a second plan under which the Eluru Canal would be shifted by 13.5 km from it current location.
Mr. Rajasekhar said while in the first plan the government needed to acquire only 195 acres, in the second plan it required 425 acres.
Mr. Rajasekhar said most of the farmers, who would be affected, were small and marginal. He said that several villages in the stretch would be cut off if the canal was diverted. The farmers were not against development of the airport, but the demands being made by the government should be reasonable, he said.
He said that the farmers were the worst-hit by the various developmental projects in the State. They gave up lands for building the capital and were parting with land for the development of the airport.
It was time the government showed some concern for them, Mr. Rajasekhar said.
