More water sought for Seema from assured allocation

- RSSC launches an intense campaign to create awareness among farmers against the government false promises on irrigation projects
- The Congress and TDP governments cheated the Rayalaseema farmers by taking up various projects involving huge amount without bothering about getting assured water to region: RSSC convener Bojja Dasratharami Reddy

Tirupati: The Rayalaseema Saguniti Sadhana Committee (RSSC) embarked on an intense campaign to sensitise the farmers on the irrigation projects, vis-à-vis, the actual allocation and drawing of waters for the region in an effort to explain the ground reality to the farmers.

RSSC convener Bojja Dasratharami Reddy, who held a meeting with the leaders of various farmers’ associations in Madanapalle on Friday, observed that the successive governments doled out only empty promises to keep the farmers in an illusion with regard to completion of projects and providing assured water to them in the region including Galeru-Nagari Sujala Sravanthi (GNSS) and Handri-Neeva Sujala Sravanthi (HNSS). There is no difference between the Congress and TDP governments in cheating the Rayalaseema farmers, Reddy said lashing out at the successive governments going on with the works of various projects involving huge amount without bothering about getting assured water to them.

The Bachawat Commission passed on the buck of allotment of the surplus water to the next Brijesh Kumar Tribunal which washed of its hands after completing the awarding of the available surplus water among the riparian states, leaving not even a drop of surplus water but the governments here did not stop taking up new irrigation projects, he pointed. Fearing that there will be no water left for the future projects, he criticised the government for acting in a callous manner on the allocation of surplus water to Rayalaseema project which he said a question of life and death. Citing that government is hardly getting about 70 tmcft of water only as against the allotment of 122.72 tmcft of assured water to Rayalaseema, he said how the government can get the surplus water when it was not in a position even to get the full quantity of the assured water to Rayalaseema. “The government, ruling party and the opposition has to be blame.

They are maintaining a stoic silence on the vital issue,” he said adding this is thife and death question and the socio-economic development of the region hinges on it.

Against the distressing background, the RSSC took up the issue and decided to sensitise the farmers on the facts behind the prospects of allocation of the water to the projects in Rayalaseema districts to expose the government game plan and mobilise them to exert pressure on all those involved in the ruling and opposition parties and the governments at the Centre and in the State for a fair deal in the allocation of water for irrigation projects in Rayalaseema. In this connection, he demanded the State government to transfer the same quantum of water drawn from Godavari to provide to Krishna basin and then to Rayalaseema immediately as it is permissible.

On the RSSC campaign in the district, he said so far Tirupati, Madanapalle and Chittoor areas were covered while Puttur and Nagari will also be touched on Saturday, the last day of the four-day campaign in the district. This will be followed in other districts in the region in February before launching padayatras in villages in the four districts in March. The campaign will culminate in a massive public meeting on May 21 in Kurnool, in which the future course of action for achieving the share of the region in the allocation of assured water will be decided.