In the wake of the government declaring that there was no possibility of releasing water from Sri Ram Sagar Project, security has been beefed up at the project and its peripherals and certain villages in Mendora, Balkonda, Morthad and Kammarpally mandals. Police personnel, drawn from Jagtial, Nirmal, Siddipet and Kamareddy districts apart from the district, have been deployed on Sunday.
Police outposts were set up in the villages and barricades erected around SE (Irrigation) office and on roads to prevent farmers coming to the place. Police are guarding the project and have placed iron fencing. Section 144 has been in force in Armoor division and police are maintaining a keen vigil on the villages even in the nights.
Commissioner of Police Kartikeya is camping at Pochampad to personally supervise bandobust arrangements. Superintendents of police of Jagtial, Kamareddy and Nirmal are also at the project. Farmers are complaining that the government is resorting to repression instead of giving water for kharif in the ayacut.
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“We are being prevented from coming out of our villages. Two farmers Mittapally Ganga Reddy and Mittapally Soma Rajeswar were picked up by police at midnight and their whereabouts are not yet known. One DSP and several CIs are camping in our village,” said Musku Raji Reddy of Mandora mandal headquarters.
He said that at least 10 farmers were taken into custody since Saturday night. About 2,000 police personnel were deployed in the villages. Vexed at the government’s adamant attitude villagers protested in a novel way by offering a memorandum to the Goddess in a temple in Kammarpally, he said. Though the situation is tense but under control and peaceful. Since villagers were celebrating Bonalu and feasting outside by cooking under trees and fields as part of Telugu Aashadam month celebrations farmers did not gather to chalk out future course of action to exert pressure on government.
However, they The farmers made it clear that the agitation which started on August 1 would continue till their demands were met. Police made arrangements to divert vehicular traffic going towards Adilabad and Nagpur on NH-44ational Highway-44. and most likely the traffic would be disrupted on Monday.
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