A row between Choutupally and Hasakothur over sharing of Godavari water from Choutupally Hanmanth Reddy lift irrigation scheme is snowballing into a major controversy. In the eye of the storm is Mission Bhagiratha vice-chairman V. Prashanth Reddy.
The conflict led to residents of the two major villages passing resolutions unanimously to boycott elections unless the issue is solved. If the villagers abide by the resolutions it would become a major headache for the TRS, as both the villages have voters numbering between 7,000 and 8,000.
35% share demand
Hasakothur villagers are demanding that a gate valve be fixed on the distributary canal to get their 35% share in water while their counterparts are opposing it tooth and nail. The controversy is centred around the gate valve which was sanctioned some four months back with the initiative of the then MLA Prashanth Reddy.
Under the LI scheme sanctioned in 2005 and completed in the following year, Ameennagar, Narsapur, Konasamunder and Inayatnagar also get water. Hasakothur people complain that they are not getting their share of water while the Choutupally farmers allege that they are diverting more water by digging a deep pit above the DC. “We are badly affected though we are entitled to 65 per cent water,” said Kommula Rajender, chairman, village development committee, Choutupally.
Incidentally, Choutupally in Kammarpally mandal is the native of former Speaker K.R. Suresh Reddy. He had facilitated the lift irrigation scheme when Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy was Chief Minister of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. As elections are nearing, leaders are urging the engineering authorities to solve the issue at the earliest.
“With Mr. Prashanth Reddy neglecting the issue and leaving it to the villagers to solve for themselves it has taken a serious turn. We do not accept the gate valve as it affects our interests,” said Mr. Rajender.
On the other hand, Hasakothur villagers under the aegis of their VDC passed a unanimous resolution directing the villagers not to extend support to the ruling party and its leaders if they come to the village. “We will boycott the election if the gate valve is not fixed before the polling,” said the VDC chairman Eleti Linga Reddy.
The Hasakothur farmers, meanwhile, broke the pipelines on Wednesday leading to tension . Police led by Assistant CP Ande Ramulu rushed to the village to prevent any untoward incident. On the other hand, the engineering authorities are trying to find an amicable solution by gathering the farmers of both villages at Kammarpally. “Both the villagers are not coming down. We are trying our best,” said the executive engineer Atmaram.
Mr. Prashanth Reddy could not be reached for his take on the issue.