Vijayamma calls for a united fight against water, division

Pulichinthala (Guntur district), Dec 4 : Launching her three-day dharna against the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal verdict which is a big blow to the State, YSR Congress Honorary President YS Vijayamma has said that the Centre is rushing through the procedures to announce the separate State on December 9 as birthday gift to Sonia Gandhi though 75 % of the people are against the division.

“The verdict has come ahead of the probable announcement as the Centre does not want the litigation to be pending before it moves ahead with the division of the State, but this gross injustice of division as well as the Tribunal verdict cannot be accepted and we have to fight them out,” she told addressing the gathering at the project site here on Wednesday.

The Tribunal verdict is against the state interests and the upper riparian states have already exploited the water resource sensing the disunity among the people of Andhra Pradesh. It is time to put up a united fight and safeguard the state for the coming generations, she said.

Bachawat has allocated 811 TMC of water to our state and it was under-utilised by TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu while he was chief minister. He neither built a new project nor completed the ones started by NTR. He had cancelled tenders of some of the projects.

“Today he is holding a dharna against the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal verdict and on what moral grounds he is undertaking this exercise but for trying to gain political mileage.

If we do not get our share of water we cannot go ahead with the projects on Krishna River including Handri-Neva, Nettampadu, Kalwakurthy, Bhima and others.

Pulichinthala, being the first project launched by YSR, which is aimed at providing water to Guntur, Krishna, Prakasam, twin Godavari and Nalgonda districts. Though 80 % of the work was completed by YSR, after him there was neglect and just before the elections, Chief Minister is coming on December 7 to inaugurate the project.

“Compensation was not fully paid to the displaced persons and the construction of crest gates was not yet completed but he Chief Minister is in a hurry to inaugurate the project. He should complete all the pending works including paying of compensation if he is sincere in helping the farmers,” she said.

Chandrababu Niadu has discouraged YSR for taking up Pulichinthala and said such a project is not viable, but YSR has gone ahead with the project which is aimed at irrigating 13 lakh acres under the delta besides power generation.

YSR has treated all the three regions equally and had he been alive Polavaram and Pranahitha-Chevella would have seen the light of the day, she said.

While Naidu’s term was against the interests of farmer, YSR term was pro-farmer. Naidu has allocated Rs 312 crores for agriculture and YSR has earmarked Rs 1,700 crores in the budget. His Jalayaganam was aimed at irrigating 1 crore acres in all the three regions.

Naidu, without taking back the letter he has given in favour of the division of the state cannot be sitting on dharna in this region, she said. He was asking for equal justice to both regions and the Congress seems to be impressed by his advocacy and has brought to the fore Rayal Telangana to equally divide the seats in both states.

Naidu has been helping Congress at all times and the Congress is playing divisive politics for the sake of votes and seats.

The division should take place only after getting two-third majority in the assembly and is ratified by both house of the parliament by a similar margin. But the Centre is misusing article 3 without showing respect to the sentiments of the local people. We have to fight on the issues of water and division of state.

YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is visiting all states to garner support for the cause of united state and in the coming elections, if he is encouraged with a mandate, the state will be united and we will get the rightful share, she said.

The dharna will continue at Gandikota project in Kadapa district tomorrow and at Jurala in Mahbubnagar the day after. INN