Encroachments Choke Nagarjunasagar Canal Lands
Krishna water is the lifeline for people living in these districts, meeting their drinking and farm irrigation needs.
Vijayawada:Encroachment of Nagarjunasagar Right Main Canal lands and the residential quarters at the dam site is a cause of concern to the water resources authorities but political meddling is making it difficult for them to evict the encroachers.
The canal is spread over nearly 204km through Guntur, Palnadu, Prakasam and Bapatla districts. Krishna water is the lifeline for people living in these districts, meeting their drinking and farm irrigation needs. The land located all along the canal is vulnerable for encroachment. Several people occupy these lands unauthorisedly and use them for cultivation.
The canal was set up more than 50 years ago. There are no proper records with the department, which is depending on the revenue authorities for the ‘adangal’ to find out the land status.
Taking advantage of this situation, people started occupying the lands of the Nagarjunasagar canal. Any effort to take back the land from them met with resistance from encroachers, who get support from local politicians.
Officials say if no action is taken against the encroachments, it may adversely affect the course of the canal which facilitates flow of water from the Nagarjunasagar project to several parts of AP for drinking and cultivation purposes.
Nagarjunasagar project superintendent engineer Krishna Mohan said, “There is a need to take up a drive involving all stakeholder departments to clear all encroachments along the course of the Right Main Canal to protect it and allow it to serve its purpose. If not, the people and the farmers face trouble for want of water.”
The Palnadu district administration is expected to act firmly and deal effectively with the situation.
Similar is the fate of residential quarters at the Nagarjunasagar Dam site. These too are under unauthorised occupation. Any effort to evict encroachers would be stonewalled by politicians. Some of these quarters are in a dilapidated condition, but the employees working in the project need accommodation. Eviction of encroachers will help them get accommodation after some repair works.
