Historically starved for irrigation and drinking water, it will be a vote for development as perceived by the voters in Rayadurg, despite claims and counter-claims on ‘real development’ that has taken place in the constituency.
Kalava Srinivasulu, Minister for I&PR and Telugu Desam Party candidate from the constituency, has made efforts to transform Rayadurg town by widening the roads and bringing dependable drinking water supply, a fact acknowledged by the residents.
The constituency with the second highest number of voters in the district after Anantapur Urban, has a large geographical area, where fallow lands are on the verge of desertification. The sitting MLA had taken up plantation on a large scale to reverse this process, but he himself is not happy with the outcome, though 70% saplings survival rate has been noticed, he claims.
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People in village after village anxiously wait for their turn at the only public tap to carry water more than a km.
At Avuladatla village in the constituency, Hanumanthappa Naik and Thippeswamy carry water into the colony on a bicycle everyday that too waiting for their turn at the sole borewell that is functional for an hour daily.
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Short supply of water
The Sreerama Reddy drinking water project near Penna Ahobilam Balancing Reservoir that is supposed to fill two overhead tanks in the village serves once in three days that too only to one tank. Other borewells have failed as groundwater has depleted due to -47% deficit rainfall.
Mr. Srinivasulu strikes a chord with the locals during his door-to-door campaign, but is flooded with requests for sanction of houses in the town.
‘TDP did nothing’
Kapu Ramachandra Reddy, the YSR Congress Party candidate, who won two times from Rayadurg once in 2009 and again in 2012 byelection with huge margin, lost narrowly in 2014.
He alleges the TDP neglected the BCs in the constituency despite the MLA being from that community. A number of visits by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had not improved ground situation, he alleges.
He says the greatest failure has been lack of efforts to bring irrigation water in five years. “Spending ₹2 crore on Pylon and project inauguration does not satisfy farmers,” he alleges.
Geographically being on the borders of Karnataka on the western side of State, road connectivity to other parts of the district is a big hurdle, but works have been launched to widen the roads and ₹250 crore has been invested by the R&B Department, says Mr. Srinivasulu.