Giddalur awaits MLA who can quench its thirst

Ongole : The Giddalur Assembly constituency, which is in the backward and drought-hit western region of the Prakasam district, is still waiting for the MLA who can convince the state government to make concrete plans to provide drinking and irrigation water to the people.

The Giddalur constituency existed since the 1955 elections. The constituency is dominated by Reddy, Kapu, Yadava and Arya Vysya communities. In the 15 times elections were held for Giddalur Assembly constituency, 12 times Reddys were elected, followed by Arya Vysyas two times and Kapu once. In the 2019 elections, 1,96,036 voters exercised their vote to elect Anna Rambabu of YSR Congress Party with 1,33,111 votes, against Muthumula Ashok Reddy of TDP with 52,076 votes, by giving a thumping majority of 81,035 votes.

Anna Venkata Rambabu, a real estate agent and builder, entered politics by winning as MLA on the Praja Rajyam Party ticket in 2009. After the PRP merged with the Congress, he too joined the Congress. Later, he joined TDP before the 2014 elections but lost to Muthumula Ashok Reddy of the YSRCP.

As Ashok Reddy defected to TDP, Rambabu joined YSRCP and won with a huge majority, second highest in the state, after YS Jagan Mohan Reddy at Pulivendula.

Rambabu announced a few days ago that he will not contest in the 2024 elections, due to health reasons. He said that he suffered non-cooperation from other community leaders in the constituency and advised them to help YSRCP win the next elections by extending support to the party candidate.

With Rambabu out of the scene, there are several aspirants for the Giddalur ticket from YSRCP. One of them is Kamuri Ramanareddy. He has been running Rajanna Nitya Bhojanam canteen, which offers a plate meal at Rs 5 in Giddalur and Komarole for the last few months.

Another aspirant is Dr Nagireddy Brahmananda Reddy, who is running Dr Brahmareddy Praja Vaidyasala by charging just Rs 10 as fees for outpatients. He is serving as a joint secretary of the YSRCP doctors wing and is confident that he will get the ticket. There are other aspirants like IV Reddy, Chereddy Venkateswara Reddy and others.

In TDP, it is almost certain former MLA Muthumula Ashok Reddy will get the ticket, unless Jana Sena demands the seat. If Jana Sena wants it, High Court advocate Bellamkonda Sai Baba will contest from Giddaluru.

The Giddalur constituency is one of very few constituencies where there are no dependable surface water sources. Anna Rambabu tried to construct a reservoir on Gundlamotu rivulet, but wasn’t able to complete it, as the forest department denied permission for digging canals or laying pipelines.

Sagileru stream is like a flash flood in monsoon, and the water couldn’t be stored as it is one of the feeder sources to the tank at Budwel. Pula Subbaiah Veligonda project, which is said to be a lifeline for the area, would not cover the thirsty Giddalur constituency in full.

The people in the constituency mainly depend on government-supplied drinking water, and the farmers depend on the bore wells for irrigation. The locals suspect that the officials are not making any plans for a permanent solution to the drinking water problem, as they collude with the water tanker supply contractors.

Giddalur people want the next MLA to complete the Gundlamotu project, provide safe drinking water to every household through the tap connections and convince the industrialists to establish a tomato processing plant in the constituency to help the local farmers.