SIDDIPET: With a slew of elections looming on the horizon, including the polls for panchayats, zilla parishads and municipalities, major political parties in Siddipet are focusing on the long-neglected problems of the Mallannasagar oustees.
Locals are expressing surprise that parties, previously silent on their problems, are now holding meetings to pressure the government for a solution, seemingly to bolster their electoral prospects.
The high court recently mandated the government to conduct local body polls within three months, prompting public representatives to refocus on public grievances. A key issue is the incomplete irrigation infrastructure tied to the Mallannasagar project.
While the main canal was built during the previous government’s tenure to divert irrigation water, distributaries to villages in Dubbaka and Siddipet constituencies remain unconstructed. As a result, farmers in Dubbaka are deprived of irrigation water though the project is in their area.
Dubbaka BRS MLA K Prabhakar Reddy and Medak BJP MP M Raghunandan Rao held a joint meeting with Mallannasagar project officials and representatives from Megha Engineering, the firm executing the project. They pressed for progress on Package 12 of the Kaleshwaram project, emphasising that constructing distributaries would deliver irrigation water to farmers in both constituencies. The leaders questioned delays in the project, rejecting the change in government as an excuse for slow progress.
Separately, Congress constituency in-charge Ch Srinivas Reddy also met the officials to discuss canal construction, signalling a unified push. However, locals remain sceptical, with some taking to social media to criticise political leaders for what they perceive as election-driven posturing rather than genuine commitment to resolving their issues.