SIDDIPET: Mallanna Sagar project oustees allege that officials have been pressurising them to relocate from their villages, in direct contradiction to their assurances submitted before the court.Ashok and Sreehari, both from Etigadda Kistapur village, said that as many as eight villages would be submerged once the Mallanna Sagar project becomes a reality.
They alleged that authorities had evacuated Lakshmapur, Erravalli and Narsannapeta villagers, and were mounting pressure on those in Kistapur to relocate to another location immediately, without providing them the benefits that were promised. Another resident of the same village said that they would take the matter to the court.
Stating that the relocated villagers were forced to live in a pitiable condition in temporary houses for the past ten months even though they were promised pucca houses, they worry that they too would have to face the same situation if they leave their village.
The villagers alleged that the authorities were not paying attention to their issues, especially pertaining to the rehabilitation of the displaced, and were only focusing on project construction and land acquisition.
The authorities had promised that they would build houses in Mutraj Palli near Gajwel for the oustees, but the construction of the houses has not been completed yet. The villagers claimed that they had no faith in officials who ignored the directions of the High Court in evacuating the oustees.
They demanded that officials and political leaders do more than provide lip service and address their grievances before asking them to evacuate their villages. The oustees asserted that authorities have to complete the construction of the R&R colonies on a war footing and pay the amounts due to them immediately. They stated that the land acquisition process has not yet been completed at Etigadda Kistapur and Vemulagadda, and that the damage to the houses in the evacuated villages have not been assessed yet.