Nizamabad Villagers oppose Manchippa Reservoir

Nizamabad: People living in the surrounding villages of Mopal mandal in Nizamabad district, especially the farmers are an extremely worried lot. They are scared because they would be losing their fertile agricultural lands and their villages will get submerged once the construction works of the Pranahita-Chevella project commence. As such they are vehemently opposing the project.

The houses are getting damaged as blasts are taking place in the region to destroy the boulders and rocks to make way for the smooth construction of the project. People are getting rattled due to the sound pollution caused by the blasts.

The Pranahita-Chevella plan involves lifting water from river Godavari Pranahita and pumping it to Chevella in order to provide water to the water-starved farmers in Chevella and farmers along the route in Medak District.

As part of the Pranahita-Chevella project, it has been decided to construct a 3.5 TMC capacity reservoir near Manchippa village of Mopal mandal in the district but the people here and in the neighbouring villages are opposing it tooth and nail as 800 acres of dense forests spread over Manchippa, Amrabad, Khailapur and Badsi villages will be lost forever during the first phase itself. The villagers made it clear to the village panchayat samithis that they would never give permission for taking away their lands. For getting Central clearance, people’s support for the reservoir construction is mandatory and the panchayats have to pass a resolution in this regard.

Speaking to The Hans India here on Monday, CPI (M) leader Peddi Venkat Reddy said that the farmers of Manchippa, Amrabad, Khailapur, Yellammakunta, Kalpol and Gunyanaik thanda would be badly hit as they would be losing their fertile lands.

He warned that the CPI (M) would launch an intensive struggle if any injustice was meted out to the farmers. He was skeptic about the officials’ contention who asserted the reservoir would benefit the farmers. They said that if the Manchippa Reservoir was constructed, Kharif crop could be sown in 2.30 lakh acres of land covering Nizamabad Rural, Armoor and Balkonda constituencies and Rabi crop on 70,000 acres of land.

Pouring out their woes, the villagers of Manchippa bemoaned that 650 families would lose their houses along with 2,000 acres of agricultural lands. They lamented that the bomb blasts at the site of the project construction were shaking up their houses and damaging the walls. Cracks have surfaced on the walls, they added.

The villagers demanded that the State government to construct houses for them at some other place as compensation as they would be incurring heavy losses.