Nagpur: The district administration in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district of Telangana batted an eyelid on Wednesday following an intense daylong stir at the site of Medigadda-Kaleshwar bridge-cum-barrage at Sironcha in south Gadchiroli demanding the bridge to be opened for public and vehicular use. The Telangana administration has now assured to take a decision by December 31.
Farmers from at least 11 villages, including Pochampally, Kothapally, Ankisa, Asaralli and others in Sironcha tehsil, led by BJP’s Sandeep Koret staged demonstration near the locked gate of the bridge on Mendigadda barrage, an inter-state project between Maharashtra and Telangana, demanding it to be made available for the public use.
The bridge connects Pochampally in Sironcha to Ambatpally in Telangana. However, citing security and other reasons following the Covid pandemic, the bridge has been closed.
Though it was BJP-led government in 2019 which had agreed to complete the Medigadda barrage, the saffron party is in the forefront of the agitation here now.
“Telangana government has cheated the population in Sironcha,” said Koret.
Apart from demanding public passage on the Medigadda bridge, local farmers and residents have also been pressing for completion of five lift irrigation projects for drinking water and also adequate compensation for the damage caused by the backwater that submerged crops and farmlands as Telangana authorities did not reduce storage by opening the gates.
“The bridge was used by residents to visit Telangana to search for livelihood. After losing crops and farmlands, closure of the bridge has come as a double blow for the farmers here,” said Koret. He also said the farmers are yet to get compensation for the crop damage and even land acquisition for the project.
Telangana administration had issued a letter to their Gadchiroli counterparts, which is in possession of TOI, asking for a proposal to open the bridge and share it’s views on setting up a check post. Bhupalpally district administration also expressed it’s intention on gathering inputs regarding the demand of the farmers from various departments like forest, revenue, irrigation, police and excise.