Babli: State may move Supreme Court

Chief Minister critical of Maharashtra Government for continuing project work

VARNI: Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy has criticised Maharashtra that it has been acting irresponsibly in respect of construction of the Babli project across the Godavari in Nanded district affecting the Sriram Sagar Project.

Talking to media persons before boarding helicopter here on Friday evening, he said, if need be, the State Government would take recourse to moving the Supreme Court to stop the Babli construction. “Our Government will not remain a silent spectator if the State’s interests are affected,” he emphasised.

Earlier, the Chief Minister on his arrival to district at Nagireddypet mandal headquarters, told reporters that the reported attack on Madhu Goud Yaskhi, MP, at Babli village was condemnable and the Government would react in an “appropriate way” on it.

Replying to a question, he said the issue of provision of reservations for Muslims was in court. He reiterated that the case would be settled in the next couple of months and then the Government would take measures to implement the reservations.

Addressing a public meeting, he said the Indiramma programme had been so evolved that all eligible poor could be provided with shelter, basic facilities like lavatories, electricity connections and safe drinking water. Basic infrastructure would be there in all villages in the next three years.

Reeling out statistics, he said in the State 38 per cent of people were shelterless and it was a shame to a civilised society. “My Government has recognised this problem, and hence taken up the provision of shelter as a priority item next only to irrigation projects,” he said.

Dwelling at length on the efforts initiated by the State Government for the welfare of the poor and the farming community, he said all eligible poor persons, the physically challenged and widows would get pension at the rate of Rs.200 per month.

Babli barrage: MP files case against M’rashtra

NEW DELHI: A Lok Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh has approached the Supreme Court against the Maharashtra government’s move to construct the Babli barrage across the Godavari river, violating an inter-state agreement.

Yaskhi said seven districts in Andhra Pradesh would be affected if the barrage was constructed.

MP prevented from visiting Babli site

Madhu Goud Yaskhi, others attacked by Nanded farmers; project work said to be on

BABLI (Nanded dt.): Madhu Goud Yaskhi, MP(Nizamabad), was prevented from proceeding to the Babli project site and his followers were attacked by farmers and villagers in Dharmabad taluq in Nanded district of Maharashtra on Thursday evening.

Senior Congress minority leader Sayyad Ahmad Zeenath was hit by a stone and another activist, Khilla Gangadhar, was beaten up with a rope by the irate mob, which gathered at the Babli village outskirts to block the MP and his followers and mediapersons.

The MP and District Congress Committee president Gadugu Gangadhar were jostled. The mob tried to attack mediapersons and snatch cameras and videocameras from photographers when the latter were taking pictures and videotaping the incident.

Trouble began when the MP and the DCC president, accompanied by a large contingent of mediapersons, went to the village to observe the position at the project site in the wake of the decision taken to stop construction of the project at the Chief Ministers’ meeting held in New Delhi a couple of days ago.

The villagers, on prior information, gathered in good strength and blocked the road leading to the project site with cement pipes and two-wheelers. Picking up a heated argument with the MP, they contended that the MP should not have come to see the project when a technical committee was constituted by the Centre on the construction.

None to be allowed

Bapu Rao Kamalakar, leader of the Babli Bandh Bachao Samithi, who allegedly misbehaved with the visitors, said: “We will prevent anyone, even the Chief Minister, from going to the project site.” Dharmabad taluq Congress president Varni Nagabushanam said: “We do not allow anyone to interfere in the construction of the project.”

The police led by Chandrakanth, Inspector of Police, brought the situation under control by pacifying the irate villagers. They stood guard to Mr. Madhu and Mr. Gangadhar. The police escorted the visiting leaders from Nizamabad for a distance on their return.

Meanwhile, sources in the village said that construction work was continuing at the project site. However, Inspector of Police Chandrakanth said work had been stopped on the direction of the District Magistrate.

Congress MPs object to construction of barrage

Construction on the river Godavari in Maharashtra figured in the Lok Sabha with agitated Congress MPs seeking central intervention by preventing the State Government from carrying on with it.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Nizamabad MP, Madhu Yashki Goud said the State Government was going ahead with the construction of the barrage that would affect the Sriramasagar irrigation project.

Mr. Goud said construction activity was going on despite an assurance by the Maharashtra Chief Minister to suspend it till March 30 when he was scheduled to meet his Andhra Pradesh counterpart.
Stating that authorities in Maharashtra were violating its own agreement and also directions of the Central Water Commission, he urged the Centre to take immediate steps. He requested that Union Water Resource Minister to visit the site. Several of Mr. Goud’s party members also stood up in sup-
port expressing their resentment over the construction.

Earlier, the Nizamabad MP had to tender an apology and express regrets after Speaker Somnath Chatterjee cautioned him for interrupting the proceedings of the House. Mr. Goud had tried to bring it up as the Speaker was calling out names of members who had given notices to raise other issues.

Babli project: work on at feverish pace, says MP

Maharashtra violating CWC directive: Madhu Yashki Goud

• Nizamabad MP meets Chief Minister after visiting the project site
   

• Shows YSR photographs of ongoing works at Babli project site
   

• Seeks support of MLAs from Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam

HYDERABAD: Notwithstanding the assurance given by Maharashtra Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh to Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy in New Delhi to stop works on the Babli project across Godavari, construction activity continues at a brisk pace.

Nizamabad MP, Madhu Yashki Goud, who visited the project site on Thursday, met the Chief Minister on Thursday and showed him photographs of the ongoing activity being carried out in violation of the Central Water Commission’s (CWC) directive to stop all work.

He said the barrage would adversely affect inflows into Sriramsagar reservoir that irrigates Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and Adilabad districts.

Mr. Goud told The Hindu that MPs from Andhra Pradesh would raise the issue in Parliament. “It is unfortunate that the Maharashtra Chief Minister has failed to keep his promise. Mr. Deshmukh should have waited till March 30, when the two leaders are to meet Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz. Babli project will spell the doom for Sriramsagar,” he said.

He later met MLAs from Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam and sought their cooperation in stalling the work on Babli. He produced a letter written by the CWC to Maharashtra Chief Secretary, which said that construction of Babli project in the submergence area of Sriramsagar project without due mutual agreement was violative of the inter-State agreement.

MP to appeal to apex court on Babli

MP visits project site and reviews pace of work

• Babli will affect inflows into Sriramasagar, says MP
   

• Project could utilise more water than expected
   

• `Babli clear violation of the river water agreement of 1975 between the two States’

EYE OF THE STORM: MP Madhu Goud Yaskhi taking a look at construction of Babli Project in Dharmabad taluq in Maharashtra on Tuesday.

NIZAMABAD: Madhu Goud Yaskhi, MP, said that he would take a recourse to the Supreme Court shortly imploring it to direct the Government of Maharashtra to immediately stop the construction of the Babli project across the Godavari in Nanded district.

“At the outset, after going back to New Delhi I will meet the Union Minister for Water Resources, Priyaranjan Das Munshi, the Central Water Commission Chairman and the Prime Minister urging them to use their offices to stop the project’s construction. Even if the Maharashtra Government turns a deaf ear on our plea I will approach the Supreme Court,” he said.

Visits project site

Accompanied by the District Congress Committee president, Gadugu Gangadhar and the ZPTC member (Sirikonda), B. Gopi and mediapersons from the district headquarters, the MP visited the Babli project.

Talking to reporters at the project site, Mr. Goud pointed out that it was unfortunate that even after the CWC had clearly directed the Maharashtra Government to give up construction of the project it was going ahead with its plan.

The whole of Telangana would become a desert if the Babli project comes up, he said.

Although the Babli project was projected to be a medium irrigation project by Maharashtra, with a capacity of just 2.74 tmcft, as per expert opinion it would be able to utilise more than 8 tmcft, he said.

“It is a clear violation of the river water agreement of 1975 between the two States,” he said. Meanwhile, the construction of the project is going on at a brisk pace. Some 7.5 metre high foundation wall across the river was completed so far and as per the workmen at the site the wall height would be increased by another 8 metres.