HYDERABAD: Konda Pochamma reservoir, it seems, in spite all the opposition it has faced from oustees, will be constructed by June 15 this year. The project is quite important for Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. He had earlier promised farmers that water will be provided for the 2019 Kharif season. The project is expected to provide irrigation water to around five districts in the region.
Officials working on the project, being constructed at Pamulaparthy of Mulugu mandal in Gajwel Assembly constituency, have redoubled their efforts to finish it. Almost 90 per cent of the total work at the main reservoir is over, said officials. The construction of the ayacut catering to Bailampur, Mamidyala and Thanedarpally thanda is complete.
Controversy has surrounded the project since its inception. The project is expected to submerge four villages by the time it goes operational. Unsurprisingly, the people that own, or rather owned, this land complain of the meagre compensation they have been provided by the government. There have been numerous agitations in the recent past by oustees. The issue had become a major poll plank during the Assembly election campaign in December. As of March 2019, petitions filed by nearly ten oustees, from Bailampur and Mamidyala villages, still lay pending in various courts, including the High Court.
Meanwhile, a superintendent engineer T Venu said they were planning to complete the project earlier than the deadline. “We want to finish it by the first week of June. In case we face any delays, we will try an finish it by June 15,” he said, “Kaleshwaram water will be diverted to Ananthagiri and later to Sriranganayak Sagar in Siddipet district. From there, it will be diverted to Konda reservoir through canals.