Anantapur: Declare all mandals as drought-prone, demands MLC Y Shivaram Reddy

Anantapur : MLC Y Shivaram Reddy submitted a memorandum to district Collector M Gautami, demanding the government to declare all the mandals in the district as ‘drought mandals’. Stating that the government had declared only 28 mandals as drought-mandals, he demanded that Beluguppa and Bommanahal mandals also should be included where severe drought conditions are prevailing. He also urged the Collector to create confidence among the people and to stop migration tendencies by undertaking drought mitigation measures on a massive scale.

The MLC demanded that the NREGS work be increased from 100 days to 150 days and issue job cards to those, who completed 18 years. Drinking water needs should be solved and village tanks need to be filled as well as the storage tanks. New motors need to be installed for filling water tanks. He regretted that the Jal Jeevan Mission is moving on at a snail’s pace. Shivaram Reddy alleged that bank officials were not giving crop loans to ST farmers. Land rights should be given to Girijan community in forest lands, he added.