ONGOLE, The flow of Gundlakamma river, which originates at Gundlabrahmeswaram in Nallamala forest, will be arrested by State Government’s flagship project ‘ Jalayagagnam ’ at Mallavaram in Maddipadu mandal.
The project is envisaged to provide irrigation water to 80,060 acres and drinking water to 2.56 lakh people of the district is all set to be inaugurated by Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy Monday making the long-cherished dream of Prakasam district people a reality. The district has faced severe drought conditions and has witnessed many agitations before 1980 for the project. As a result of the agitations, the Gundlakamma (Kandula Obulreddy) project was conceptualised at Mallavaram, which was conducive for the project.
Though the project faced opposition from the farmers of Ongole, Maddipadu, Naguluppalapadu, Korsipadu, Inkollu and J Pangaluru, the strongholds of Telugu Desam, initially, once it was completed within the scheduled period, the same farmers broke coconuts at the project site to express their gratitude.
A semi-township abutting Chennai-Kolkata highway at Maddipadu has been readied. Sunkara Govindurajulu of Borepalli village that was submerged in the project, is a happy man now. Earlier, he did not have a proper pathway to his village and he used to rear cattle and sheep living in a thatched hut.
Now, the Government under R&R package allotted him 10 cents of land abutting the national highway. He has constructed a spacious house in five cents of land and he is assured of Rs 10 lakh even if he sells the remaining five cents. Over 80 per cent of the displaced persons are farm labourers, small and medium farmers, who are mainly dependent on the income from cattle-rearing. They are now demanding allotment of site for rearing cattle.
Officials estimate that farmers would get Rs 152 crore income annually by raising various crops under the ayacut of more than 80,000 acres and the underground water table would also increase substantially. It is also estimated that the project may bring down the fluoride content in the ground water. The officials also hope that the project would help arrest the migration of farm labourers. The project could utilise 29.29 tmc of water from 7,910 square kilometre of its purview.