Kavitha demands return of 5 merged villages in AP to Telangana

Hyderabad: Telangana Jagruthi President and BRS MLC K Kavitha has demanded that five villages, merged into Andhra Pradesh under the Polavaram project, be returned to Telangana.

Kavitha raised this issue during a roundtable discussion titled “Polavaram: Telangana pai Khadgam” (Polavaram: A Sword Over Telangana), organised by Telangana Jagruthi at the Somajiguda Press Club on Friday, June 20.

Kavitha highlighted the “plight” of residents in Purushottapatnam, Krishnagundala, Etapaka, Kannayigudem, and Pitchukalapadu—villages that were merged with Andhra Pradesh as part of the Polavaram Project.

Kavitha warns of major floods

She stated that the people of these villages are caught between two states, with neither government addressing their concerns.

“If the height of the embankments is not increased, these five villages will remain at risk. In the event of major floods, all these villages could be submerged,” Kavitha warned.

She further expressed concern that the Polavaram Project poses a permanent submergence threat to the Bhadrachalam region. “If the spillway capacity of Polavaram is increased to 5 million cusecs, the resulting backwater problem could endanger the Bhadrachalam temple itself,” she cautioned.

Kavitha announced that Telangana Jagruthi would pursue legal action regarding the submerged villages.

Kavitha urges Revanth to raise issue with PM Modi

She urged chief minister A Revanth Reddy to raise this issue during the “Pragati Agenda” meeting scheduled for June 25, which will see the participation of the chief ministers of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi.

Kavitha also stated that resolutions passed at the roundtable would be presented to the Prime Minister, and letters would be sent to chief minister Revanth Reddy and Union Minister Kishan Reddy, seeking their intervention for a resolution.

The meeting saw participation from CPI (ML) New Democracy State Secretary Govardhan, leaders from the Bhadrachalam Development Forum, the Five Village Panchayat Rights Committee, and various civil society representatives, including Jangili Sampath, Avuluri Satyanarayana, Dasari Balakrishna, Rasala Narsaiah, Gollapalli Shiva, Katiboyina Anand, Veeranna, Roopsingh, Lokini Raju, and Kishan Naik.