HYDERABAD: Amarachinta police have registered a case against 14 farmers for allegedly releasing water into the Priyadarshini Jurala Project (PJP) Left Main Canal (LMC) without official permission.
According to police, the farmers allegedly opened the canal gates on September 19, following which the Irrigation department lodged a complaint and police registered a case on September 20.
The complaint was lodged by Deputy Executive Engineer of Irrigation Sub-Division-I SM Samiullah. He said a large number of farmers from Arepally, Mulamalla and Kathepally villages and surrounding ayacut areas had gathered near the PJP project site on September 19, demanding the immediate release of irrigation water into the canal network.
According to the complaint, the protesters blocked the main road leading to the project, disrupting traffic and restricting the movement of officials. When Irrigation officials tried to explain the procedures for releasing water, the crowd allegedly turned hostile, surrounded the officials, pushed and manhandled them, snatched their phones and abused them.
The complainant further alleged that some protesters forced their way into the PJP head regulator site in the evening, damaged two access doors of the control room and broke the official locks and security fastenings.
They allegedly entered the control room and manually operated the lifting mechanisms, opening the PJP Left Main Canal regulator gates without authorisation or technical supervision.
Police registered a case under Sections 132, 308(2), 352, 221, 126(2), 329(3), 189(2), 191(2) and 324(4) read with Section 190 of the BNS and Section 3 of the PDPP Act. An investigation is under way.