Polavaram displaced seek speedy R&R package

Kakinada: Villagers of mandals getting submerged under Polavaram project till 45.72 contour level have urged state government to provide immediate relief and rehabilitation (R&R).

They point out that after floods in River Godavari in 2021, government had carried out a survey and identified that Devipatnam, V.R. Puram, Kunavaram, Chinturu, and Yetapaka mandals in Alluri Sitarama Raju district and Polavaram, Kukkunuru, and Velerupadu mandals in Eluru district will be affected due to the Polavaram project.

Further, officials identified that if Polavaram project’s height is 150 feet, 313 villages will be affected in four merged mandals of Chinturu division. They identified 81 villages for handing over the R&R package in the first phase. However, the R&R package has not been completed yet.

Officials say tribal people will be accommodated in the new rehabilitation colonies in their own mandals, where there is no submergence. Non-tribal people will be given five cents of house site each and cash for construction of their dwelling. According to officials, total 36 villages in Eluru and ASR districts have been included in the submergence list with the number of victims being over 34,000.

Officials are making arrangements for holding Grama Sabhas in Polavaram-affected mandals to decide on the beneficiaries’ list. However, many of the villagers are complaining that their names have not yet been included in the victims’ list. They demand that the government should include their names.

Another problem is that many villagers have temporarily migrated to other places for livelihood. Their names have not been included saying they had not been in the villages when officials conducted the survey.

Adivasi Maha Sabha legal advisor Inapurapu Suryanarayana has, however, maintained that when floods occur, all villages get flooded. Given the circumstances, state government should term all villages under 45.72 contour list as affected and provide R&R package accordingly.