Enraged Rayalaseema farmers demand small dam on Krishna river

Thousands of people in Rayalaseema who marched to Siddeswaram village in Nandyal district on Tuesday (May 31) performed ‘Jala Deeksha’ in the backwaters of Srisailam Reservoir demanding immediate construction of a weir (dam) at the location.

About 5,000 farmers, youth, teachers, students, intellectuals and many others who came from all districts of the Rayalaseema region vowed to convert the fight for a weir on Krishna river into a Rayalaseema identity movement. They claimed the region’s identity was in danger as the mainstream political parties were simply following electoral politics.

The protesters reached Siddeswaram and performed a puja at the Sangameswara temple, which would otherwise be under the river water, before entering the knee-deep Krishna river to perform ‘Jala Deeksha’ (a pledge to fight for justice). The programme culminated into a public meeting.

The temple would have remained submerged in Srisailam backwaters if the level of the reservoir was maintained at 854 ft.

As a result of the indiscriminate withdrawal of water from the reservoir in the name of power generation by Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the water level has fallen much below 854 feet, farmers’ leaders present at Siddeswaram said.

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Addressing the public meeting, Bojja Dasaratha Ramireddy of Rayalseema Saguniti Sadhana Samiti (RSNS) lambasted the approach of ruling and opposition parties towards the farmers of Rayalaseema.

“They (coastal Andhra regions) are drawing Krishna water not only for agriculture but also for aquaculture. This at a time when people here are facing an acute shortage. This year, against its capacity of 350 TMC, the reservoir received 1050 TMC. The entire water has been let out leaving the Siddeswaram area dry. We could not have seen the temple here if the water level was maintained at 854 ft. It’s what I call an anti-Rayalaseema attitude. If we allow this to continue, our farmers will face an existential crisis,” warned Reddy, who is the head of the non-political movement.

Reddy said the police tried to scuttle the peaceful yatra by intimidating people with arrests. He called upon the people of Rayalseema to intensify the movement as a fight for identity. “It is a shame that both the government and opposition are turning a blind to the plight of Rayalaseema farmers. What we want is a weir which is just a minor project. Still, no political party is backing the demand as their interests lie elsewhere. We farmers have no option but to take the battle to the people to achieve our goal,” Reddy said, adding that the campaign for the weir would continue.

Reddy argued that the construction of a weir would in fact enhance the longevity of the Srisailam dam by arresting the siltation of the reservoir.

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“From a humanitarian point of view as well, the weir will benefit dozens of villages that were displaced at the time of the building of the (Srisailam) dam in the 1960s. The tragedy is that the very people who sacrificed their villages and lands for reservoirs are now crying for water. The weir will permanently solve the water shortage problem of villages that were rehabilitated,” Reddy said.