Kandukur: Water supply from Rallapadu to Kamadhenu project opposed

Kandukur: MLA from Kandukuru and former minister Manugunta Mahidhar Reddy, along with more than a thousand farmers, staged a protest near the lift irrigation project at Rallapadu reservoir on Tuesday, opposing the earlier government's allotment of five lakh litres per day to Kamadhenu Project by lifting from the reservoir. Later, he announced that the government has responded to his protest and Chief Minister promised him to take appropriate decision soon.

The government had constructed the Rallapadu reservoir in Lingasamudram mandal. It calculated the drinking water need of 133 villages and irrigation water need for the ayacut of 45,000 acres and allocated 1.5 TMC feet of water from Somasila Project in Nellore district. The works of the left canal to Somasila Project is not yet complete; but the flood water is being released to Rallapadu. As drought prevailed for the last four years, the Lingasamudram, Gudluru, Valetivaripalem, Kandukur and other mandals have been facing severe water scarcity.

In 2016, the government released a GO No 40 to allocate five lakh litres to Kamadhenu project, which is being constructed at Chintaladeevi in Nellore district. The GO said that the water will be lifted from the 1.5 TMC feet of Rallapadu reservoir. As the farmers protested the works of the lift irrigation project, the then Irrigation Minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, MLA Pothula Ramarao assured them that the GO will be put in abeyance, but the works were continued while the officials were busy in the election.

The present Kandukuru MLA Mahidhara Reddy announced a protest at the lift irrigation project construction site near Rallapadu reservoir on Tuesday and reached the place with about 1000 farmers and demanded immediate cancellation of the GO. He said that the earlier government cheated on the public and tried to take water from the rightful share of the locals to Kamadhenu project.

He said that he suggested the then government to not disturb the reservoir quota, but take the required water from the left canal of the Somasila project. He demanded the government to stop the lift irrigation works, complete the Somasila left canal works immediately and make alternate arrangements for Kamadhenu project.

The Andhra Pradesh Raitu Sangham leader Kurra Kondareddy demanded the government to stabilize the ayacut under the Rallapadu reservoir first by completing the Somasila left canal works. He demanded that the government can take the water to Kamadhenu project from the left canal, which passes near to it than spending more money to lay pipelines from Rallapadu reservoir. He demanded that the government should cancel the GO No 40 immediately and see the reservoir filled in the monsoon.

CM Jaganmohan Reddy responded: Manugunta

The Kandukur MLA Manugunta Mahidhar Reddy announced that Chief Minister responded to the protest at the Rallapadu reservoir. He said that YSRCP senior leader YV Subbareddy called him as per the instructions of the Chief Minister and said that the works of Kamadhenu project will be stopped immediately. Mahidhar Reddy said that Chief Minister assured him that the GO No 40 can be reviewed and a decision to allocate extra water to Rallapadu will be taken after discussing with the officials.