VIZIANAGARAM: All opposition parties and mass organisations have decided to support Tarakarama Theertha Sagar Project Vyathirekha Porata Samiti until the government conducts public hearing and announces rehabilitation package to the project victims.

At the round-table conference here on Tuesday, the State Project Porata Nirvasithula Committee vice-president Bantu Dasu said that in spite of hydrology report that the project was not viable, the oustees were not opposing it except demanding a detailed report on the extent of submergence and compensation package to be paid to them. Instead, the district administration was going ahead with the survey by deploying police force and arresting leaders fighting for their cause on "flimsy grounds," he said and added that the two-member experts' committee appointed to study the feasibility of the project completed the survey in just three hours and submitted the report.

It concluded that Korada Agraharaam village that has 150 families alone would submerge, Mr. Dasu said.

Submerge threat

The report was misleading the administration as, according to report submitted in the past, a few more villages such as Kumili, Saripalli, A.T.Agraharam etc would also be submerged, he said. Moreover, 6,000 acres out of the envisaged ayacut of 24,000-odd acres on either side of the NH-5 in Poosapatirega and Bhogapuram mandals were already in the hands of real estate businessmen and hence it was not correct to spend crores of rupees on such a project, he asserted.

TDP district ad-hoc committee convenor Y. Ramana Murty while demanding an assurance that the project would not affect the drinking water sources (located in river Champavathi) of Vizianagaram town said a resurvey and public hearing would sort out the present impasse.

At present, unless there were floods to Champavathi river, water was not adequate even to meet irrigation demands under various other minor schemes located across the river, he said.

BJP district president K.V.N.R. Prasad, AIDWA district president M. Uma Maheswari, Rythu Sangam president B. Rambabu, Andhra Pradesh Rythu Coolie Sangam president P. Narasinga Rao, Communist Party of India (Marxist) executive committee member Reddy Srirama Murty condemned the arrests of CPI (M) district secretary M. Krishna Murty and Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangam general secretary M. Suryanarayana on fake charges.

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