Superintendent of Police B Rohit Raju monitoring the rescue operation following flash floods in Peddavagu stream at Narayanapuram village in Bhadradri Kothagudem district on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: By Arrangement
The major bund breach emptying the Peddavagu medium irrigation project in Telangana’s Bhadradri Kothagudem district on Thursday has dealt a crippling blow to the farmers of Gummadivalli, Kothuru and its adjoining villages in the downstream of the project, the ayacut of which is spread in both Telangana and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
With their hopes of agriculture prospects in the current kharif season dashed, several aggrieved farmers narrated their tale of woe to Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao, who visited the flood-affected villages in Aswaraopeta mandal of Bhadradri Kothagudem district on Sunday.
Hundreds of agricultural fields and several houses were inundated following the breach.
The distraught farmers blamed “official apathy” for the breach of the project, the reservoir and head regulator site of which is located in Telangana and the lion’s share of its ayacut in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. Of the total registered ayacut of 16,500 acres, about 14,000 acres is located in Andhra Pradesh’s Eluru district and rest in Telangana’s Bhadradri Kothagudem district.
Citing their sand cast agricultural fields in Gummadivalli, the misery stricken farmers made a fervent appeal to the Agriculture Minister to ensure adequate compensation for the losses suffered by them and get the project repaired on a war footing.
Blaming the “poor maintenance” of the Peddavagu project for the “fiasco”, a paddy farmer said if all the three crest gates of the project been opened in time, the incident would not have taken place. He lamented that the paddy saplings transplanted by him were completely washed away and heaps of sand piled up in his agricultural field. Another villager alleged that the Peddavagu project’s bund breach took a heavy toll on the internal roads, canals, drains, pucca and kutcha houses in Gummadivalli.
Moved by their plight, the Minister assured them all possible help from the government. He instructed officials to enumerate the losses expeditiously, provide rice and other essential commodities to all the affected families, deploy medical teams and implement relief measures.
Collector Jitesh V. Patel and Superintendent of Police B. Rohit Raju accompanied the Minister.
