SIDDIPET: Marriages have become a luxury in the Erravelli village of Kondapaka, after its residents find themselves incapable of convincing others to marry their children into a village that will soon cease to exist.
Lying in the submerged lands of Mallanna Sagar reservoir project that stands almost complete, Erravelli village is on the verge of falling apart. With nowhere to go once the waters swallow their homes, the people of Erravelli find themselves helpless since the rehabilitation works are moving at snail’s pace.
“My brother-in-law wanted to get his son married to my daughter for a long time. Ever since the project came up and he came to know the village would soon be underwater, he refuses to take up talks of the wedding again,” shared the village sarpanch, V Narasimha Reddy. The youth is obviously the most disappointed, says the sarpanch.
Narayana, a resident said, the government had promised of constructing double bedroom houses in the neighbouring Mutrajpally village, but there is no significant progress in the works. “The government paid compensation for our lands but did not fix the price of our houses. Till date not a single leader from the ruling party has visited us,” he added.
“My father died within 20 days of registering our 20 acres of land in the name of the government,” said the village sarpanch Narsimha. At least 30 people have died in the village within the last six months.
Villagers claim the trauma of having to vacate their village led to the early deaths.