BOON OR BANE?: Works on the Indira Sagar Right Main Canal going on at a brisk pace near Vempadu in Pedavegi mandal of West Godavari district.

PEDAKADIMI (WEST GODAVARI DIST): Katru Narayana, a small farmer from this backward village in Pedavegi mandal of West Godavari district, turns gloomy as a giant earth mover rolls on to gobble up his 1 acre land as part of digging the Indirasagar Right Canal. The canal, billed as a harbinger of prosperity in West Godavari and Krishna districts, hardly cheers him. "Our life is linked to the land since generations. Now, it is snapped and I have become a farmer without land," rues Narayana whose 1 acre land was acquired for the canal execution.

Paltry compensation

He claims he cannot buy alternative land either with the paltry amount of compensation he received from the Government. "I received Rs. 2.65 lakh as compensation for the land and I will end up with only Rs. 60,000 after clearing debts. How can I purchase land with that meagre amount when an acre is priced at Rs 3-4 lakh," he asks.

Same is the case with Challagulla Satyanarayana who remains a mute witness to his 1.5 acre maize field fast disappearing.

Undavelli Rambabu, another farmer, who lost 3.5 acres, feels cheated by the administration. "Although I was given the compensation for the land acquired for the canal works, the standing maize crop worth Rs. 1 lakh which was destroyed in the process of executing works was not compensated. I am also denied compensation for shifting of my service connection," he bemoans. He will have to pay the Transco Rs. 10,000 towards deposit and the charges for shifting of his service connection from the borewell which also gave way to the giant canal. After the acquisition, now he has only 1.33 acre which does not have an approach road. And he cannot afford to dig a bore well for cultivation by spending a huge amount of Rs. 3 lakhs. An extent of some 500 acres was acquired for the canal works from this village alone. It is to be seen whether the proposed canal will change the face of this drought-prone mandal which registered as many as 17 suicide cases involving the debt-trapped farmers.

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