The oustees of the project warn that if the government does not compensate them adequately, they will file nominations en masse.
Charlagudem project oustees in a dharna at Marriguda MRO office. (Raj Rayasam/South First)
Each political party in the fray in the Munugode byelections in Telangana has its own set of challenges. And matters have been made worse by people, who seem to be seething because of neglect.
Matters seem to be a little more complicated for the ruling TRS, with the question arising: Will the Charlagudem (Sivannagudem) project become the sorrow of the party in the by-election to Munugode?
The oustees of the project have been on dharna for nearly a month now in front of the Marriguda MRO office seeking a better compensation package. The project is coming up in the Marrigudem Mandal in the Munugode constituency.
They are seething with rage that they had been wronged by the government in awarding compensation for their lands.
The oustees warn that if the government does not listen to their woes and solve their problem, they will register their protest by filing mass nominations. “We will file at least 500 nominations if the government does not come forward,” said V Sudhakar Rao, one of the oustees.
This apart, they are planning to move the high court seeking compensation on a par with the package given to the Siddipet farmers when their lands were acquired for the Mallanna Sagar Project.
Charlagudem project oustees in a dharna at Marriguda MRO office. (Raj Rayasam/South First)
The threat of mass nominations is a bit unnerving to the TRS, which knows what the move could do to its prospects. Apart from capturing nationwide attention, the protest would make people think whether there was justice in their demand and might turn them against the government.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao is leaving no stone unturned to wrest the Munugode Assembly seat from rivals.
But this mass-nomination spectre should worry him. After all, his daughter K Kavitha lost the election to the Lok Sabha from Nizamabad in 2019 because of the ire of turmeric farmers who filed mass nominations in protest against the delay in the setting up of the Turmeric Board.
The protest suddenly catapulted Nizambad to the national scene, eroding the image of the TRS. It became one of the main factors that led to the fall of the chief minister’s daughter in the election.
“We will tour all villages in the constituency and see that the TRS candidate is defeated in the by-election if the government does not do justice to us. There is no question of settling for any compensation less than what had been offered to the farmers in Siddipet,” Sudhakara Rao told South First.
The Charlagudem project site. (Raj Rayasam/South First)
The project is expected to be fed by water from the Dindi Lift Irrigation Scheme. It is being built with a capacity of 11.2 tmcft and would prove to be the lifeline of the Munugode constituency.
When the project is in place, Charlagudem, Narsireddygudem, Venkepalli, and Venkepalli Thanda will be submerged. Over 800 families would lose not only land but also their houses. Most of them had been paid compensation as part of a relief-and-rehabilitation package.
But those who lost only lands are seeking compensation on a par with Siddipet farmers. There are three such villages to whom the government paid compensation for their land at the rate of ₹4.15 lakh per acre as against ₹12 lakh paid to the Mallannasagar Project farmers.
“They have paid compensation to us for the land, and are refusing to pay an R-and-R package since our villages are not going to be submerged. But what will we do sitting in houses without our lands? If they pay for our houses, we can go somewhere and resume agriculture activity,” another oustee, M Krishnaiah, told South First.
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