VIJAYAWADA: People’s organisations of Rayalaseema lamented the injustice being meted out to the region in terms of development, including irrigation resources, at ‘Rayalaseema Satyagraham for implementation of Sribagh Pact’ at Dharna Chowk in Vijayawada on Friday.
Sribagh Pact signed on November 16, 1937 at the house of Kasinadhuni Nageswara Rao (Sribagh) in Chennai, highlighted four aspects — irrigation resources or capital or high court be given to Rayalaseema.
Rayalaseema People’s Organisations Federation convener and Rayalaseema Saguneeti Sadhana Samithi president Bojja Dasaratha Rami Reddy and others demanded a white paper from the State government on development of Rayalaseema.
“Today, people of Rayalaseema are frustrated that the conditions at the time of Sribagh Pact continue even today. Farmers need water not subsidies. In the past three years, not much water has come our way. Though the region has its share of river water as per Bachawat and Brijesh Kumar Tribunals Awards, there is not enough irrigation infrastructure in place. Time has come for the policy makers to decide before our patience runs out,” said CBI former joint director VV Lakshmi Narayana, who also hails from Rayalaseema, said.
While taking part in the protest, he said the central issue of the Sribagh Pact is the capital city and high court. As per the pact, if Rayalaseema region gets a capital, Andhra region would get a high court or vice-versa. “This is not happening today,” he said.
The State having two capitals and multiple HC benches is not a new phenomenon, he said, citing the example of Maharashtra, where Nagpur acts as the winter capital and also has a high court bench along with one at Aurangabad.
Federation of Farmers’ Association State president M Gopal Reddy and leader from Chittoor Purushotham Reddy said, though it is Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s native district, it does not have its share of irrigation water. “Water for Chittoor is presently drawn from various sources, including Telangana. This has to change,” they said.