Tension gripped Telangana's Etigadda Kistapur village when a group of BJP leaders, led by Dubbaka MLA M Raghunandan Rao, were stopped from entering the village where the Mallannasagar irrigation works, part of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, are currently underway.
The party made the decision to tour the village after the residents urged the MLA to do so, alleging that the local authorities had been carrying out bund construction at night without having first distributed compensation to the dispossessed villagers.
However, Raghunandan Rao's convoy was stopped by the police even before it could enter the village. This led to an altercation between the leader and his supporters, and the police, and ended with the MLA being taken into preventive custody. He was taken to the Cheriyal police station.
Speaking to the media on the matter, Rao lashed out at the police and the local authorities for preventing him from entering Etigadda Kistapur, and said that the move to stop him from visiting a village in his own constituency was "condemnable".
He alleged that although he had made "repeated appeals" to the concerned authorities to "resolve the pending compensation and rehabilitation" issues, no action had been taken to do so.
"Instead of compensating the affected farmers whose lands have been submerged, the revenue authorities, in collusion with the local police, have been stealthily taking up bund construction works at night. They are doing so without having spoken to the locals, or to me in my capacity as the MLA of the constituency. All this is happening because of the TRS government as it is tacitly supporting the revenue department's unjust activities," he fumed.
"Now, when my people have asked me to come and inspect the area, the authorities are not even letting me enter the village. But, unlike the ruling party, my party and I will stand by the affected people despite these paltry attempts to stop us. We will not let the project proceed unless the compensation and rehabilitation issues are sorted out. And, I will visit the village and meet the affected people in a few days again, come what may," the MLA added.
While the BJP claims that the Kaleshwaram oustees are being treated unjustly by the state government, the latter had recently announced that it would soon be
setting up grievance cells for those affected by the much-hyped irrigation project.