AP: 5 villages near Bhadrachalam divided over merging with Telangana

Hyderabad: The ongoing heavy rains and floods have left five villages situated near the border of Bhadrachalam district divided. While one group wants to merge with Telangana, the other group has opposed it.

Recently, Telangana Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar visited the area. He blamed the Polavaram Irrigation Project as the reason for the flooding caused in the villages.

The Polavaram Irrigation Project is Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy’s ambitious project. The project has been accorded national status by the Central Government. It is constructed on the Godavari River in the Eluru district and East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh.

As floods increased near the Godavari river the five villages – Yetapaka, Gundala, Pichukalapadu, Kannaigudem, and Purushothapatnam of Alluri Sitarama Raju district – the Telangana government took relief and rehabilitation measures.

Unfortunately, the Andhra Government was unable to reach the villages. Relief materials had to be air dropped by the Indian Navy.

Owing to this, some villages have demanded a merger with the Telangana state. On Sunday, some of them protested demanding the merger. They pointed out that they have to walk for nearly 200 kms to reach the district headquarters, Paderu, for any work. 

Speaking to The New Indian Express, one of the protestors, Degala Ramakrishna said, “We have to depend on Bhadrachalam for our livelihood. Once the Polavaram project gets completed, people living in four mandals will have no access to Andhra Pradesh. We can only develop if the merger with Telangana happens.”

Meanwhile, the other section opposing the merger demanded that Bhadrachalam district should come under Andhra Pradesh and be made district headquarters.

Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC) member Gonagdi Venkatarami Reddy said people are happy with the Jagan Mohan Reddy government.

“We also held a meeting with the sarpanches of the five villages and passed a resolution against the propaganda being spread that some people want the villages to be merged with Telangana,” he said. They plan to start an agitation if anyone tries to merge the villages with Telangana.