About eight kilometres from Rajiv Rahadari, the moment one enters the village, the doors are found locked and shops shut. Barely one or two persons are seen on the road.
With the by-elections for Dubbak Assembly over and ruling party suffering a defeat, the government has now focused its attention in completing the Mallannasagar project. Erravalli is one among the villages in Kondapaka mandal of Siddipet district that will be submerged under the reservoir.
Over 80% of the oustees had already vacated the village in the last few days. A word that ‘good houses are being occupied’ by early birds spread and the oustees soon, vacated their houses, group after group, and temporarily shifted to the double bedroom houses at Sangapur.
But, about 30 people are still residing in the village as they think that if they leave, they might not get the remaining compensation from the government.
“Life is scary, especially at night, for us. With dogs barking and weeping at night and snakes making frequent appearances, we are somehow surviving in this deserted village. I had a house that I sold to the government for ₹15 lakh for the construction of Mallannasagar project. But, I was not allotted any house as my name was not included in the list. How come my name is not there in the beneficiaries’ list when people of the same age group were able to get an allotted house?” asked Kokkonda Lakshmi.
She said that about 18 people from their village had approached the High Court regarding this issue, out of which only three were paid compensation.
People who are still living in the village feel they have been punished for having a land or a house here.
None of the government officers has visited the village to check on them. They are mainly not visiting the place for fear of questions that will be posed by villagers on compensation.