Mallannasagar: Displaced villagers complain of raw deal

Voters of Singaram, one of the three villages to be submerged by Mallannasagar project in Gajwel assembly segment, are an angry lot.

The village, which has around 1,000 households, will have to be evacuated for the reservoir project, with the residents having to sacrifice their homes and farmlands. All the houses have been numbered and the lands taken over by the government.

“The compensation promised by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in the state Assembly was Rs 6.5 lakh for an acre but we were paid only Rs 6 lakh an acre. The government promised us two-bedroom house at Mutrazpalli but when we go there they say our names are missing,” Maragoni Rama Gowd, a villager told DH. 
Better compensation

Manda Swamy, another villager, said they were not against the reservoir drowning their village, one among the 14 villages to be submerged, but they want a better compensation package. Congress candidate Vonteru Pratap Reddy has promised the villagers he would fight for a compensation of Rs 12 lakh an acre if elected Gajwel MLA.

The TRS government's arrogance is evident from the way it treated the farmers of Mallannasagar, said Manda Kishan, son of Manda Swamy, who was allegedly cane charged by police for opposing Mallannasagar project. “There are only 10,000 oustees in these villages. KCR should have provided all eligible persons some employment and allocated houses, but none from TRS has ever visited these villages,” the young man rued.