Raiwada in eye of storm

By SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, June 9, 2013: Controversy over diversion of Raiwada reservoir water to meet the city requirements has always dominated politics in rural tracts of the district, helping many politicians to emerge as strong leaders in this region.

The issue has been simmering for more than three decades now without a solution in sight. RD, seeking political meilage launched a fresh protest last week by blocking water to the city.

The party now set a deadline of one month to the authorities to settle the issue by releasing orders so that the entire Raiwada water is utilized for irrigation instead of sending a few cusecs to city.

Interestingly in a coincidence of sorts the Madugula TD MLA Ramu Naidu who launched the agitation last week was made party rural president on Saturday the post which fell vacant after the exit of Dadi Veerabhadra Rao’s son Dadi Ratnakar. 

Raiwada reservoir, which is 58 km away from here, is one of the major sources of water to city.  Around 27 mgd of water is drawn daily by an open canal to the city. Of the 3 tmcft water, GVMC gets 1.4 tmcft and the remaining is for agriculture diverted to around 15,000 acres of ayacut in the rural tracts.   

But this water supply  has always been a controversy with various  leaders affiliated to different parties demanding that the total quantity of water be allotted to agriculture. There was also a G O issued earlier that portion of Raiwada water be supplied to city. Political parties have repeatedly used this issue to gain political mileage.

In 2003, the then PCC general secretary Konatala Ramakrishna also led a huge rally of farmers to the Raiwada reservoir demanding that the government release water for saving crops in the area. The agitation gave a fresh lease of political career to Kontala Ramakrishna. He too blocked the water supply from Raiwada to city.

Last week Madugula MLA Rama Naidu observed 36-hour hunger strike with senior TDP leaders Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy, Pappala Chalapathi Rao and Adari Tulasi Rao lending support to the protest.

“A memo was issued in 2005 that Rraiwada water would be supplied to an additional 6,000 acres. But until that assurance was also not kept. We are giving one month deadline if the G O that allows water to city is not scrapped we will not hesitate to launch direct agitation,” said Ramunaidu.  He also added that the supply to the original ayacut was erratic.

Last Tuesday, Naidu with the help of  farmers from Madugula, Chodavaram, Yelamanchali and Anakapelle, blocked water supply to city at Raiwada reservoir by using sand bags.