Angry land losers stall Chintalapudi lift works

VIJAYAWADA: The land losers on Tuesday stalled the Chintalapudi Lift irrigation scheme works near Kommugudem demanding a fair deal. Tension prevailed in the area following deployment of a contingency of police which led to a showdown at the work site.

The land owners from 14 villages have been on a relay fast at Yarraguntapalli under Chintalapudi mandal for nearly 10 days seeking a uniform package of compensation for the lands notified for acquisition for the lift scheme. The protest hit the project works in a similar manner a few days ago. The Revenue authorities notified 3,989 hectares, including 2704 hectares of reserve forest for the lift scheme. It is proposed to harness the Godavari waters for irrigation of 4 lakh acres in Chintalapudi and Gopalapuram mandals in West Godavari and Mylavaram, Nandigama and Nuzvid areas in Krishna district through the Plavaram right main canal. Besides, it meets drinking water needs of 6.5 lakh people en route. Accordingly, a reservoir for storage of 8tmcft across Jalleru and a pump house near Guddigudem to lift water from the Polavaram canal.

Nambhuri Srimannarayana, a local advocate who is leading the protest said, the officials offered only Rs 12 lakh in Jeelugumilli and Rs 22 lakh in Chintalapudi mandals while Rs 30 lakh in Denduluru mandal. The farmers from Chintalapudi and Jeelugumilli asserted that their lands were fertile and suitable for cash crops like tobacco, mirchi and cotton and that the compensation offered by the government was not in commensurate with the actual land value. Recalling that the government had offered Rs 30 lakh per acre for Pattiseema lift scheme, they insisted that a similar offer should be extended even for Chintalapudi lift scheme also.

Although the scheme was initially designed to irrigate the upland tracts in Chintalapudi and Gopalapuram mandals in West Godavari district, Water Resources Minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao in the current TDP government extended the lift scheme up to his constituency covering 2 lakh acres which actually fell under the Nagarjuna Sagar Left Canal. The people in the minister’s constituency had to look up to the Godavari waters since the Krishna river failed to trickle in waters for the last several years.