KARIMNAGAR: There seems to be a curse on the Choppadandi Assembly constituency as the residents complain of scarcity amidst the plenty. Farmers do not have irrigation facilities for about 25,000 acres in Ramadugu and Choppadandi mandals though the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme water flows through the segment. Farmers get no water for their crops despite the Gayatri pump house of KLIS being located in the segment, apart from a flood flow canal.
Thirupathi Reddy, a farmer from Ramadugu, said every year crops wither due lack of the lack of irrigation facilities. Farmers staged a protest for irrigation facility but it was in vain. The government issued a GO allocating Rs 255 crore for the construction of canals and land acquisition but no funds had been released, he alleged.
Another pressing problem is homeless people struggling for shelter as allotment of double-bedroom houses has caused heartburn among those yet to receive a 2BHK. Kankaiah, a daily wage worker, said he had applied for a double-bedroom house but wasn’t able to get one despite running from one government office to another.
After the issue of the election notification, the constituency came alive with intense political activity. Once the TDP had a sway over the segment in the combined Andhra Pradesh. The Yellow party won elections for the seat six times, the Congress and BRS twice each. Presently there is a triangular contest between the BRS, Congress, and BJP candidates.
Bodige Shobha contested and won the election in 2014 on BRS ticket but now she is in the fray as a BJP candidate. MLA Sunke Ravi Shankar is the BRS nominee while Medipalli Satyam is fighting the election on behalf of the Congress.
Unemployment issue
Youth in the constituency have been migrating in search of greener pastures as they say that there is no employment potential in the region. Atla Komuraiah of Gangadhara mandal applied for financial help under Dalit Bandhu but didn’t receive any updates, he said. He now sells helmets and caps on the national highway to make ends meet.
The farmers have been waiting for the sanction of compensation to farmers who lost their crops due to untimely rains last year. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao visited the fields when rains and hailstorms had damaged the crops and promised payment of Rs 10,000 per acre. About 6,000 farmers are waiting for compensation for crops damaged in 5,083 acres.
Shobha said: “At present, there is no development in the constituency. I had done a lot when I was the MLA. People now want a change.”However, Ravi Shankar said the people were very happy as they are receiving benefits from the State government’s welfare schemes. “After the BRS comes to power for the third time in the state, we will speed up the implementation of the double-bedroom housing scheme.”
Meanwhile, Satyam said that the people’s response to the six guarantees of Congress is very encouraging. “As soon as the Congress comes to power, we will attend to the need to improve irrigation facility to the parched fields in the constituency,” he added.
