People of over half-a-dozen habitations displaced by Vattem reservoir, a key component of the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme, in Nagarkurnool district took up a protest march to Pragathi Bhavan, the residence-cum-camp office of the Chief Minister, on Monday demanding relief and rehabilitation on the lines of one implemented for the oustees of Mallannasagar of Kaleshwaram project.
According to the information reaching here, people of Karukonda thanda, Anekhanpally thanda, Anekhanpally, Jeegutta thanda, Ramreddypally thanda and a few other habitations set-off on a march to Pragathi Bhavan in groups to press for their demand of a better relief and rehabilitation package alleging that they were not given proper compensation in lieu of their agricultural lands and other assets acquired for the reservoir.
Tension prevailed near Vattem when the police obstructed the march by protesters and took them into custody and bundled them into vans. In all, about 350 persons were taken into custody by the police at different places in the district and foiled their march to Hyderabad for staging a protest at Pragathi Bhavan.
Paltry compensation
Speaking to reporters, the displaced people alleged that they were paid paltry compensation, that too in instalments, for their lands and other assets acquired in 2015-16 compared to the package given to the oustees of Mallannasagar. As a result, they were unable to purchase some land at other places and they would have purchased at least some extent of farm land had they been given the compensation as one time settlement as given to the people displaced by Mallannasagar.
The people displaced by Vattem reservoir have been staging protests for the last couple of months in different forms and they have decided on the march to Pragathi Bhavan last month. However, Nagarkurnool legislator Marri Janardhan Reddy convinced them to postpone their protest march last month with an assurance that he would pursue the matter of judicious compensation with the government and get it cleared in 15 days.
Forcibly removed
As there was no action from the government on the issue, the displaced people decided to take up the march to Pragathi Bhavan starting from Monday, although their MLA sought time till the month-end to get the matter settled. Tension prevailed when the police obstructed the march at several places as the former bundled the protesters forcibly into vans.
Meanwhile, State secretary of Communist Party of India Chada Venkat Reddy, in a letter addressed to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday, requested implementation of a relief and rehabilitation package to Palamuru-Rangareddy oustees on the lines of the one given to Mallannasagar oustees.