AP: CPI(M) Leaders Hear Stories of Misery from Polavaram Displaced
B Tulasidas
THE Polavaram National Project, touted as a “lifeline” for Andhra Pradesh, has over the years led to the large-scale displacement of thousands of families across the Godavari basin. While successive governments have promised rehabilitation, the displaced continue to live in misery –many in leaking houses, unfinished colonies, or even makeshift huts. Allegations of massive corruption in construction and rehabilitation works have only deepened public anger.
Against this backdrop, the CPI(M) organised a two-day tour of the Polavaram project’s flood-affected areas and rehabilitation colonies to highlight the continuing plight of displaced people. Party General Secretary M A Baby and John Brittas, CPI(M) leader in the Rajya Sabha, took part in the tour, visiting both sides of the submergence zone in ASR (Rampachodavaram) and Eluru districts. The leaders spoke to affected families, toured resettlement colonies, and addressed public meetings on August 16-17. Local women welcomed the team with traditional aartis.
Addressing the displaced, Baby announced that the CPI(M) would take their problems to the national level and support every struggle they wage for justice. He said the Modi government at the Centre, the previous YSRCP regime, and the present TDP government had all failed miserably in implementing the promises made to the displaced. Everywhere in the colonies, he noted, only substandard structures could be seen, many leaking rainwater despite being completed just three or four years ago.
He alleged that funds sanctioned for rehabilitation were siphoned off by political leaders, officials, and contractors in collusion. He demanded an immediate probe into the damage to the diaphragm wall, guide bund, and related structures, along with strict legal action against those responsible. Further, he pressed for skill training and jobs for those who sacrificed their lands for the project, or at the very least, employment in local works until permanent arrangements are made. The CPI(M) also demanded compensation of Rs 20 lakh for every displaced family.
John Brittas said that basic needs such as drinking water, education, healthcare, transportation, and employment were not provided for the displaced people. He asserted that the CPI(M) would intensify the struggle on behalf of the displaced in the coming period. He also questioned why the TDP and YSRCP MPs from Andhra Pradesh had failed to raise these serious issues in Parliament despite the continuing suffering of the displaced.
Party Central Committee member K Lokanatham stressed that Polavaram is not merely about building a project but also about the government’s responsibility to rehabilitate those who sacrificed their lands. Citing Ramavaram village in V R Puram mandal as an example of the authorities’ faulty contour calculations, he explained that while there are 279 houses in the village, only 166 on one side of the road were notified for displacement. “Will there be flooding only on one side of the road?” he asked, calling on the displaced to join the struggle to expose the negligence of the rulers.
CPI(M) ASR Rampachodavaram district secretary Boppena Kiran said the Party had identified the problems of the Polavaram displaced as national issues, urging everyone to participate in the struggles being planned in the coming days.
Local people also submitted petitions to the CPI(M) team highlighting their problems. State secretariat members Killo Surendra, B Tulsidas, B Balaram, Eluru district secretary A Ravi, state committee member M Nagamani, and others took part in the two-day tour.
POOR CONDITIONS IN REHABILITATION COLONIES
In Narasingapeta R&R Colony of Etapaka Mandal, Alluri district, displaced families of the Polavaram project continue to live in misery, struggling without even basic facilities.
“Our rehabilitation colony does not have proper facilities. Even though a drinking water tank has been built, we have to fetch drinking water from a kilometer away as no connection has been given. Since the construction of side drains was abandoned midway, sewage stagnates and stinks. Rainwater leaks through the slabs of our houses, though they were built less than three years ago. Because of poor sanitation, the mosquito menace is severe, and recently a young man died of fever. We don’t even have access to a primary health centre,” said Ketchala Kalyani of Narasingapeta Colony.
Others narrated similar stories. Kondla Sridevi explained: “Our ration cards are still linked to the old village. To get ration rice we have to travel 90 kilometres, spending at least Rs 300 per person on auto fare. Aadhaar and voter cards are also still in our old village. We were shifted here from Sriramagiri in a haphazard manner. There are no roads, street lights don’t work, and if a pregnant woman needs to be taken to a hospital in an auto, there is no chance of survival. Toilets were built at a low height, and we had to install doors ourselves. Theft is a constant fear.”
Employment opportunities have vanished. Ravikumar Reddy said: “Since coming to the rehabilitation colony, I have had no work. Earlier, I worked as a labourer in my village, but here there is nothing. I am forced to go to Bhadrachalam in Telangana for daily wage work. There is no Anganwadi, no primary school, no PHC. During rains, the roads become unusable and we are completely cut off.”
Dharmaraju Reddy added: “I have to travel all the way to Gonduru in V R Puram mandal to collect my pension, which costs about Rs 500. The pension should be given here itself. Sanitation is poor, there is no water tank connection, yet we are forced to live here without even the bare minimum.”
Whoever you meet in Narasingapeta Colony has the same story of neglect and hardship. Despite promises of rehabilitation, displaced families live without water, healthcare, schools, roads, or livelihood opportunities – a stark reminder of the government’s failure to uphold its commitments.
