Kuyuguru villagers stage ‘Jala Deeksha’

Rampachodavaram (ASR District): Villagers of Kuyuguru in Chinturu mandal of ASR district staged a Jala Deeksha on Sunday demanding that Kuyuguru village be included in the first contour (41.15) level and immediate payment of R&R package compensation.

Hundreds of villagers, including women, stood in the waters that flooded the village and protested strongly against the government. They raised slogans to pay package compensation to their village immediately. They criticised Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for breaking his promise on the R&R package.

The villagers recalled that the Chief Minister came to their village after last year’s floods and said that he was shocked to see the collapsed houses and people’s flood woes and also he promised to pay compensation within two months.

Villager Sunnam Suman told ‘The Hans India’ that in a meeting held in the same village last year, Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy promised to provide a rehabilitation package within two months.

He criticised that the name of the village was also removed from the list of flooded villages. He said that he did not understand why this happened.

He said that Kuyuguru is the first village to be flooded in Chinturu mandal. Moreover, the confluence of two streams, the Sabari and Godavari floods will affect the village from three sides.

The villagers are angry that the officials said that this village, where 1,200 tribals and non-tribals from about 450 families live, is not included in the survey.

Mutyala Srinu, a villager, said that they are living in constant fear for their lives due to the floods and are taking shelter in the forests and hills. Last year, they lived in fear for about five months about the impending flood. He said that the villagers are facing difficulties even in agricultural work or employment. The government should respond with humanity and recognise their village.