Andhra Pradesh: Roundtable calls for completing projects on the Krishna in Rayalaseema

Speakers at the roundtable organised on the status of irrigation projects in Rayalaseema call for a night-long dharna at the proposed Siddeswaram project site in Nandyal district on May 31

Irrigation projects grounded on the Krishna river in the Rayalaseema region, which had also been promised in the A.P. Reorganisation Act, 2014, were not completed, depriving the region of its assured share of 132 tmcft of water out of the total allocation of 299 tmcft for the State from the Krishna and the Tungabhadra, speakers at a roundtable organised here on May 18 (Thursday) opined.

“Political leaders from Andhra Pradesh have ignored this, and are showing more interest to mobilise people for opposing the Upper Bhadra project in Karnataka,” the speakers said.

The roundtable gave a call to the people to gather at the proposed Siddeswaram project site in Nandyal district on May 31 to spend a whole night there in order to mount pressure on the State and Central governments for constructing a barrage-cum-bridge instead of a wire-stayed bridge approved by the Centre.

The speakers at the roundtable, which was organised by various people’s organisations of the Rayalaseema region, said that at the time of bifurcation of the State, the region had been promised its due share of drinking and irrigation waters by getting the KRMB approvals for the four projects of Velugonda, Telugu Ganga, Galeru-Nagari and Handri- Neeva, but the focus was laid only on the projects in the coastal region such as Pattiseema and Polavaram.

In his address, Rayalaseema Saguneeti Sadhana Samithi president Bojja Dasaratharami Reddy said, while the region should have got water from Pothireddypadu by maintaining the water level at 854 feet at the Srisailam dam to irrigate 19 lakh acres from its assured allocation of 132 tmcft, only 8 lakh acres was being irrigated.

“The Upper Bhadra project is a 15-year dream of the arid region farmers of Karnataka, and they are taking it from their allocated water by lobbying with the Centre. In contrast, the leaders from Andhra Pradesh have never sought their due. Highlighting the Upper Bhadra project now is nothing but diverting the attention of the Rayalaseema people and betraying the farmers,” he said.

Abhivruddhi Vikendrikarana Sadhana Samithi president K.V. Ramana too expressed dismay at the lack of efforts to bring the KRMB office to Kurnool and providing the region with sufficient irrigation water by completing the High Level Canal modernisation or the Handri-Neeva Sujala Sravanthi.