BHUPALAPALLY: Despair appears to have enveloped Moranchapalle, one of the many villages in the State that have borne the brunt of the recent extremely heavy rains. Those who lost their cattle and property are contemplating migrating from the village. In the past two days, many have flocked to the village in Jayashankar Bhupalapally district to extend support and try to console the families who have chosen to return.
The mood in the village remains grim as the villagers struggle to come to terms with the loss of their homes and belongings. Some rue the fact that they opted to stay on in the village after it experienced similar flooding two decades ago.
The impact of the floods has been particularly severe on several groups, including farmers, 56 to 60 families of agricultural labourers, and 150 small farmer families in Moranchapalle village. With everything they owned lost, these families are now contemplating migrating to Hyderabad or Warangal.
Pusa Raju, a resident of the Chenchu colony, said his dairy farm, which had 20 heads of cattle, was washed away by the swollen Moranchapalle vagu (stream). Raju used to earn about Rs 20,000 per month supplying milk from his dairy farm. Having lost his source of livelihood, Raju and others in similar circumstances, have decided to migrate to cities like Hyderabad to eke out a living.
M Lalitha, another villager, owned four acres of agricultural land in Moranchapalle. Her land is now filled with a layer of sand five feet high, left behind by the receding water. Cleaning it up to make it fit for agriculture operations would cost Lalitha about Rs 1 lakh per acre, which she cannot afford as she has lost her property and belongings in the flood.
While officials and leaders visit the village, there has been no assurance of help or compensation from them so far. The officials have distributed essential commodities and assessed infrastructure damage, while the villagers are left to fight their own battles.