Members of YSRCP took out a massive rally in support of the proposal for three capitals on Friday, where a large number of people marched from the Clock Tower in the city to the Sapthagiri Circle, with the slogan, ‘Laksha Kotla Rajadhani Vaddu - Saguneeti Projectlu Muddu’ (All we want is an irrigation project, not a capital city worth crores).
Farmers of the district joined the rally and made a list of demands, first being that the government focus on irrigation projects to make sure that Anantapur gets sufficient irrigation and drinking water.
Demand for canals
They also demanded construction of canals from Tungabhadra Dam in Karnataka through Anantapur and asked for an allocation of 60 tmcft water through Handri-Neeva Sujala Sravanthi (HNSS) canals.
Apart from that, farmers pressed the government for the expansion of HNSS canals to irrigate 3.55 lakh acres in the district. Later, they also demanded that the government fill 1,250 tanks using the HNSS parallel canal.
On drinking water, farmers said that the government must develop a water grid project to provide water connections to 1,063 panchayats and 12 municipalities. They also desired industrial development of the district so that unemployment could be brought down.
BC welfare minister Malagundla Sankaranarayana, MLAs T. Prakash Reddy, Ananta Venkata Rami Reddy, Sridhar Reddy were among those who took part in the event.
