The residents of villages that are getting submerged under Mallannasagar, part of Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, are under tremendous stress both psychological as well as physical.
On Thursday agency implementing the bund work for the Mallannasagar closed the road leading to Siddipet leading to residents of several affected villagers objecting to it and Congress leader Ch. Srinivas Reddy and a few farmers who staged a protest there were arrested by the police. The villagers objected to the closure of Siddipet road as it would compel them to travel another 20 kilometers to reach the district headquarters.
The Congress leader was arrested and shifted to Toguta police station. He was injured in the melee and shifted to a hospital in Hyderabad for treatment.
Referring to a court judgement, the project displaced point out that officials were directed by the High Court not to disconnect power, roads and water till all the project affected persons were shifted to Rehabilitation and Resettlement colony. The main grievance of the project affected persons is was that they were yet to receive the full compensation amount and according to the court order the officials could not close the road. It is a direct violation of the High Court directives, the residents say.
The Bharatiya Janata Party gave a call for ‘Chalo Mallannasagar’ on Friday in protest against the incidents at Etigaddakishtapur, this led to tension with party activists and Dubbak MLA M. Raghunandan Rao entering into heated arguments with police.
Fearing that the situation may go out of control, heavy police force was mobilised in and around Etigaddakishtapur since Thursday night. The police force was reported to have been put on alert at Vemulaghat and Pallepahad, which would also be submerged under the Mallannasagar.
Meanwhile, Dubbak MLA M. Raghunandan Rao, was prevented by the police from visiting Etigaddakishtapur and arrested at Venkatraopet and shifted to Cheriyal police station. He had a heated argument with police but to no avail. “I am visiting my constituency and I have a right to visit the residents. What is the problem? Why are you preventing me?” he asked police.
Pallepahad inundated
In a related development, irrigation water started to flow in Pallepahad village causing villagers to panic, the agitated womenfolk of the village had a heated argument with officials.
The villagers feared that the authorities had deliberately released the water to inundate the village and force them to leave their homes. However, they got pacified only after police informed them that the water release was stopped.
“We released water to Dubbak canal. While the canal capacity is 500 cusecs we released 1,200 cusecs through pumping system as it was not possible to release less than that. The remaining 700 cusecs was diverted into quarries dug for the Mallannasagar reservoir. There is no breach of any canal or tank. We have stopped the release of water after several villagers felt that their village was getting inundated,” said an irrigation official on condition of anonymity.
Congress party working president A. Revanth Reddy condemned the attack on Mr. Srinivas Reddy and said Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao would have to pay for that.
