Tuesday, Feb 18, 2003
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Andhra Pradesh
By S. Ramu
According to an estimation, out of 28 lakhs of rural population, nearly seven lakh people already left the villages and the exodus is increasing with each passing day in search of mandays. On the other hand, nearly 20,000 daily-wage workers who are in construction work are in a quandary. "Migrations are not new to the district but the depressing fact is that a large number of ayacut ryots too left the villages to eke out a living at far-away places,'' said the secretary of the district Rytu Sangham, Bontala Chandra Reddy. He forecasts starvation deaths and rise in the number of suicides if the Government fails to provide succour or the rain plays truant once again. Drought has a devastating impact in Turkapally, Bibinagar, Mellachervu, Mathampally, Nadigudem, Bhongir, Alair, Devarakonda, Chandampet and Nakrekal mandals. The worst-hit section is the ST population, who have been deprived of basic facilities. More than 60 per cent of the tribal tandas that were set up under the rehabilitation package announced at the time of the construction of the world-famous Nagarjunasagar dam reportedly migrated en masse. Manchya tanda, Bojya tanda, Gurrambode tanda and Bilyanayak tanda in Mathampally mandal are glaring examples for the mass migration in the wake of severe drought. "For the first time, the Gurrambode lift has been closed down and tribals are leaving in a big way. I have never seen such mass exodus,'' said Bandya Naik, a 60-year-old resident of Ramachandrapuram. More than 1000 bores have dried up and the ground water level dropped to alarming levels in the district resulting in acute water scarcity. Though the district administration confidently says that funds are not a problem to quench the thirst of people, some villages in Mellachervu mandal such as Dondapadu, Vajinepalli and Mallreddigudem are facing severe water crisis. Talking to The Hindu, the Kodad MLA, Uttamkumar Reddy and the Miryalaguda MLA, R.Srinivas, alleged that two Ministers, Kodela Sivaprasada Rao and Tummala Nageswara Rao, were drawing more water to Guntur and Khammama districts respectively by pressuring NSP officials. They allege that the district is being discriminated against in supply of irrigation as well as drinking water. When it comes to cattle, which is backbone of the rural economy, rough estimates suggest that at least 40 per cent of cattle heads have been sent to slaughterhouses in the wake of fodder scarcity. "Out of the 13 lakh buffaloes, she-buffaloes, bullocks and cows, nearly five lakh might have been butchered,'' says Mr.Chandra Reddy. Meanwhile, the District Collector, Ram Prakash Sisodia, puts at Rs.690.22 crores the estimated loss in agriculture, fisheries, animal husbandry and horticulture sectors due to drought. The Central team that visited four mandals too was moved by the plights of the villagers but the need of the hour is war-footing measures to help out the poor and underprivileged.
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