A meeting of farmers here demanded that the government prioritise completion of works on major irrigation projects in Rayalaseema with the available funds rather than going for new projects.
Representatives of Farmers’ Federation, at an awareness meeting organised by Rythanga Samakya and Bharaitya Kisan Sangh here, called on the government to allocate substantial funds for projects like the Pattiseema lift irrigation scheme.
Former Drainage Board member and Rythangya Samakya president Yerneni Nagendranath said though the Rayalaseema farmers would benefit from the Pattiseema scheme, water could not be taken to lands in Rayalaseema unless the Handri-Neeva and Galeru-Nagari projects were completed.
He added that the Rayalaseema farmers depended on diesel pumps to draw water from canals, as there were no field channels.
“There is no point spending Rs. 1,300 crore on the Pattiseema scheme without completing these projects. Though officials claim the project could be completed in six months, it can’t be said how long it would actually take,” he said.
Former Minister Vadde Sobhanadreeswara Rao said the Pattiseema scheme could lead to the shelving of the Polavaram project.
He demanded that priority be given to completion of projects that would be of immediate benefit to farmers. “Thousands of crores have been spent on several irrigation projects, but they are of no benefit to farmers as they are incomplete,” he added. Rayalaseema Farmers’ Federation leaders Chandramouleswara Reddy, Dasaradharam Reddy and Chandrasekhara Reddy, YSRC farmers’ wing president M.V.S. Nagi Reddy, PCC secretary Kolanukonda Sivaji and Andhra Pradesh WUAs Federation general secretary K. Trinadha Reddy spoke.
They demanded that the government allocate Rs. 2,500 crore for completion of irrigation projects.
It is better to complete unfinished irrigation projects with available funds than going for new ones, feel farmers
