Live
- Sikkim govt to constitute state Niti Ayog: CM Tamang
- CBI books Rajasthan narcotics inspector for Rs 3 lakh bribe
- Rajasthan bypolls: A tough contest between BJP and Congress
- Albania joins SEPA, paving way for EU integration
- Japanese government approves 250-billion USD economic package to ease price pain
- Six pharma companies to set up their units in Telangana
- The Unstable Events of a 17-Wicket Day in Perth: India vs Australia
- Dutch FM's Israel trip cancelled after Netanyahu's arrest warrant
- UK to increase energy price cap by 1.2 per cent
- Ethiopia launches national coffee platform to maximise earnings
Singur dam hit villagers living on the edge
Decades after the construction of Singur project, which meets the drinking water needs of the twin cities, the residents of the villages in submerged area are yet to be compensated and rehabilitated. Peepalpally, which is pronounced as Pippadpally, in Raikode mandal of Medak district, one of the 47 villages which is under the submergence zone of the project tells a sorry tale of the villagers.
Raikode (Medak): Decades after the construction of Singur project, which meets the drinking water needs of the twin cities, the residents of the villages in submerged area are yet to be compensated and rehabilitated.
Peepalpally, which is pronounced as Pippadpally, in Raikode mandal of Medak district, one of the 47 villages which is under the submergence zone of the project tells a sorry tale of the villagers.
A visit to the potential submergence area reveals many houses reduced to rubble with wild growth of trees making the entire area unfit for human habitation. Life has not been easy for the villagers, comprising mostly SCs and BCs, who continue to live in the submergence zone.
The village lies at a distance of 37.2 km up stream, on the right flank of Singur dam. There is also a local stream which flows from within the village, which joins the Manjeera river at a location very close to the area where the villagers have been living. During rainy season, the residential area gets inundated with water up to 3.5 feet, according to official estimates. But the reality is much scary.Due to scanty rainfall this year, Singur reservoir has completely dried-up, which has allowed access to these dilapidated houses.
But when the river flows well, the condition of the villagers living here is pathetic. Poisonous snakes, insects and pests entering the households are a common sight. On certain occasions even crocodiles entered the sugarcane fields. The villagers live in constant fear of being bitten by snakes, which has happened on numerous occasions. On top of this, water keeps seeping into the houses; dampening the walls making the houses vulnerable.
After a shoddy survey done in 1992, the irrigation officials had then decided to allot land, give compensation and offer rehabilitation to only 60 families out of the hundreds living in the submergence area of the village. The 60 families constructed houses in a safer zone of the village.
The villagers had moved to an adjoining street, in the land assigned to the villagers by Indira Gandhi when she was the MP of Medak.
By:Vivek Bhoomi
