The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Kurnool village yet to gain from Manmohan's sops

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Nov 20, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Kurnool village yet to gain from Manmohan's sops

By D. Sreenivasulu

Laying of cement concrete roads at Somayajulapalli yet to begin.

KURNOOL, NOV. 19. Various works proposed by the Prime Minister have no smooth sailing at Somayajulapalli village in Kurnool district!

The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, visited the village, located on the National Highway No. 18 between Kurnool and Nandyal, on July 1 this year as part of his mission to console bereaved families of farmers who had committed suicide.

Besides the package for the families, Dr. Singh had announced certain sops for the development of the village, which included Rs. 10 lakhs for additional classrooms so that the local upper primary school could be upgraded into high school, Rs. 1 crore for an irrigation tank, Rs. 10 lakhs for drinking water line to Chennamsettipalli (hamlet), Rs. 25 lakhs for cement roads and 100 houses under IAY scheme.

School construction

An amount of Rs. 5 lakhs was credited into the account of the school development committee for construction of additional classrooms. But construction could not be taken up due to lack of space on the school campus, which has only half acre. Rangareddy, elder of the village, who promised one acre land for the school, backed out after officials did not accept the condition that the school be named after him. The officials argue that since development of the school is associated with the Prime Minister, it would not be proper to name it after an individual.

The authorities have not made efforts to acquire an alternative site for the school. Politics also played its part, with Congress leaders not cooperating with the school committee chairperson, Nagamalleswaramma, and the sarpanch, Veerabhadrachari, who belonged to the TDP. However, the Department of School Education issued orders upgrading the school and bifurcating the primary and high school sections. Eighth class was introduced with 18 students.

Controversy

The agriculture tank, proposed to irrigate 200 acres, is also embroiled in a controversy, with the farmers who lose land opposing it. Officials conducted a survey and land acquisition of over 70 acres for the tank bed is pending.

Residents of Somajulapalli, who receive water from Kalva Bugga, are reluctant to share water with the hamlet village apprehending reduced supply to the main village. Instead, they suggested that a parallel line should be created instead of extending the existing pipeline.

Construction of cement concrete road in the village has just started. The houses sanctioned under the IAY are under progress but there is dissatisfaction in the villagers that the distribution has been done on the basis of party affiliations and genuine families have been ignored.

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