Sunday, Sep 14, 2003
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Andhra Pradesh
By Our Special Correspondent
The District Congress Committee president, Mandali Budha Prasad, Pinnameneni Venkateswara Rao and Yerneni Rajaramachander (all MLAs), TDP leader, Yerneni Nagendranath, CPI leader, Azad and Perni Venkataramaiah, Youth Congress leader and Paturi Seetharamanjaneyulu began their fast in a buoyant mood at 10 a.m. today. As scores of farmers, who gathered from neighbouring villages, raised slogans demanding water, the leaders went up the stage and took their `deeksha.' As the Krishna Delta Protection Committee decided to run the agitation keeping away politics, no party flags were displayed at the fasting camp. Scores of farmers from neighbouring villages are thronging the fasting camp to express their solidarity. About 650 farmers from Tamirisa village in Nandivada mandal came to the camp boarding 22 tractors. They carried lunch and came prepared to stay till evening. Mr. Mandali Budha Prasad demanded that the Government release 10,000 cusecs immediately and keep its promise to save kharif crop in Krishna delta. He asserted that the present releases of 5,000 cusecs would not be sufficient to save the crop. He pointed out that the District Review Committee headed by the Agriculture Minister, Vadde Sobhanadreeswara Rao, himself sought 10,000 cusecs of water. Even the District Collector, K. Prabhakara Reddy, recommended for release of 8,000 cusecs. He said the delta required 15,000 cusecs at this point of time. But keeping the poor inflows and low water level at Nagarjunasagar and Srisailam, the committee sought only 10,000 cusecs. "That is the barest minimum needed to save the crop,'' he felt. Mr. Nagendranath said farmers in the Krishna delta had raised seedbeds earlier than those in Guntur district. The nurseries were becoming overaged and withering away and required water more urgently in Krishna district than Guntur. But officials were releasing water in the ratio of 45:55 for Guntur and Krishna districts as per instructions given by the Irrigation Minister, Kadiam Srihari, who is also incharge Minister for Guntur, he said. He wanted officials to supply at least 70 per cent of the inflows to Krishna district to complete transplantation within the next one week. The former Deputy Chief Minister, Koneru Ranga Rao, the former Minister, Devineni Rajasekhar Nehru, the Congress MLA, Jaleel Khan, and the A.P. Rytu Sangham president, Kolli Nageswara Rao, visited the camp and extended their support. The delta protection committee has given call for rasta roko in all mandal headquarters in the delta on Sunday for one hour from 11 a.m. It has also constituted a 35-member committee to organise agitations at the mandal level in support of the fasting camp at Machilipatnam. Meanwhile, CPI(M) workers led by district president, V. Umamaheswara Rao, staged a dharna in Vijayawada seeking more water for Krishna delta.
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