The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Villagers bank on `son of the soil'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 11, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Villagers bank on `son of the soil'

By Ravi Reddy

DONGAON (NIZAMABAD DT.), APRIL 10. Cutting across party lines, residents of this displaced village under the Kaulasnala medium irrigation project in backward Jukkal (SC) Assembly segment on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border, are rallying behind its `son of the soil' and Telugu Desam Party nominee, Hanumanth Shinde.

A former engineer with the Irrigation Department, Mr. Shinde hails from the backward village, 110 km from Nizamabad district headquarters. Son of a poor farmer, Mr. Shinde is an engineer having served in different places before his transfer to Kaulasnala project. The entire village went elated after Mr. Shinde's selection, which has raised hopes of fellow villagers. The old Dongaon village, situated on the other side of the Kaulasnala river, has been shifted and the displaced residents have been allotted alternative house sites in three locations.

The villagers renamed the new settlements Shaktinagar, Vijayanagar and Srinagar. No sooner did it become clear that Mr. Shinde has been named TDP candidate, the village erupted in joy. A meeting was held two days ago where a unanimous resolution was passed by the residents to vote en masse for Mr. Shinde. The village upa sarpanch, Hanmandlu, speaking to The Hindu on Saturday, said the entire village was backing the candidature of Mr. Shinde in the hope that their hardships and sufferings would come to an end.

He hoped that Mr. Shinde would be able to highlight their plight. He said there were 1,200 voters in the three settlements and they were determined to see that no vote was cast in favour of the Congress. "When the Congress candidate, S. Gangaram, visited our village a couple of days ago, we told him politely that we will be supporting our man,'' he added.

A 45-minute rough drive through the dusty 10-km stretch from Khandebellur takes one to this village on the banks of the Kaulasnala. The village is a picture of official apathy with no basic amenities in place.

A few houses for locals, provision for drinking water, power supply and establishment of two schools is all that villagers have been provided with. Stating that the village has been neglected by the authorities concerned, Santosh, village temple committee chief, says the most urgent need of locals is a black-topped road up to Khandebellur and Jukkal. "There have been 10 deaths in the last few years, including that of pregnant women, as they could not be shifted to the nearest hospital in time due to lack of transport facilities,'' he points out.

Balram, a ward member, says: "Despite abundant water, farmers are forced to depend on rainfall for irrigation facilities. Unless a lift irrigation scheme is constructed, our hardships will not end,'' he says.

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