Manair River Front project: Alugunur farmers seek ‘equal’ compensation

KARIMNAGAR: The farmers of Alugunur have already sacrificed their lands for the Lower Manair Dam (LMD) project; now, they are set to lose a portion of their lands to the State government’s ambitious Manair River Front project.  These farmers, whose lands are on the right side of Manair, want the government to offer them the same compensation it plans to give to the owners of lands acquired on the other side of river. Their demand comes in the wake of BC Welfare Minister Gangula Kamalakar’s announcement that about 150 meters of lands on both sides would be acquired for the project. 

The farmers made their demand known when the authorities arrived at the proposed project site for preliminary assessment. They also met the Minister to make a representation afterwards. The land acquisition is likely to affect around 60 farmers.“We have already lost our lands for the Lower Manair Dam project. We are ready to made another sacrifice, but the government should provide the same compensation for the lands acquired on both sides of the river,” said Padala Ramesh, a local farmer.  

Minister Kamalakar assured the farmers that there will be no bias in providing compensation and urged them to cooperate with the government. “The Manair River Front is a pet project of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. He wants it to be developed on the lines of Sabarmathi River Front in Gujarat. The idea is to develop Karimnagar into a tourism hub,” the Minister said.  

Meanwhile, Irrigation Department Engineer-in-Chief B Shankar said that a team of engineers have visited the Lower Manair Dam area to prepare a report. A private agency is also surveying the area using drones to prepare a detailed report on the length and width of river and the rocks and bushes in the surrounding areas, he added.