Farmers demand sub-canal from Handri-Neeva canal for irrigation-deprived villages

Devanakonda (Kurnool district): To address the irrigation water scarcity in several villages of Devanakonda mandal, leaders of the Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham and the Communist Party of India (CPI) submitted a memorandum to the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) of Pattikonda, Bharat Naik, on Tuesday. They called for the construction of a sub-canal from the Handri-Neeva main canal near Gundlakonda to ensure that irrigation water reaches deprived villages.

The delegation, which included CPI Mandal Secretary M Narasa Rao, former Bandapalli Sarpanch Sriramulu, and local farmer leaders, presented their demands at the Devanakonda Tahsildar office. The farmer leaders explained that although the government promised irrigation water for nearly 46,000 acres in the mandal through the Handri-Neeva project, only a few villages have received the benefits, leaving about 75% of farmers without access to water.

They emphasized the urgent need for a sub-canal from the main canal to serve multiple villages, including Gudimiralla, K. Venkatapuram, Madapuram, Bantupalli, and others, to ensure proper irrigation. Despite repeated appeals, no action has been taken so far. The farmers also called for the construction of distributary canals to directly supply water to farmlands across the mandal. The memorandum was supported by several Rythu Sangham leaders and local farmers.