The peaceful protests that farmers have been holding for the past 10 days in Rekalakunta Panchayat area of Brahmangari Matham Mandal in Kadapa district have finally borne fruit. The farmers staged a protest in front of the local Rithvik Company demanding a response to their problems, and on Monday, the company management convened a special meeting with the farmers. The dispute was resolved after the company’s top officials responded positively to the farmers’ demands during these discussions. Farmers from Rekalakunta, Balaji Nagar, Bagadipalle, Gollapalle, Z. Kothapalle, D. Agraharam, T. Ramapuram, and Vampalli Cheruvu villages have protested several times at Rithvik Company for the past ten days. They expressed their concern that this company has been causing serious damage to the local people and farmers for the past three years. The farmers expressed their anger that the company’s work is causing immense dust and dirt to fall on the crops, completely damaging the crops that should have been harvested. He explained that due to the heavy blasting being carried out within the company’s area, the underground has changed and the pipes in the boreholes are getting stuck, and it is not possible to remove them, and many farmers are facing difficulties in getting irrigation water. He alleged that the company is using local water resources and is only incurring losses for them. In this meeting, the farmers put forward a key proposal to the management. Currently, the people of Rekalakunta Panchayat have to travel more than 40 kilometers to go to Brahmangarimatham, the mandal center. However, a road has already been constructed from Rekalakunta Gangamma Temple and the new secretariat for the inspection of the pipeline work to transport water from Telugu Ganga (Brahma Sagar) to Kadapa. Now, it was brought to the attention of the company that if a link road of just 3 kilometers is constructed from the road constructed by Rithvik Company, the distance to the mandal center will be reduced by about 20 to 25 kilometers, which will be very beneficial for the farmers of this area. Along with this, they demanded that water plants be set up in several villages within the panchayat’s area and that the company should cooperate in local development. A group of senior officials including Leasing Manager Jayaprakash, General Manager Thirumurugan, HR Kiran, Manager Vishnuvardhan and others participated in these discussions held under the auspices of Kadapa District Telugu Desam Party Vice President Kanala Mallikarjuna Reddy on behalf of Rithvik Company. The company representatives agreed that all the issues asked by the farmers were fair. They assured that they would soon start work on the road construction requested by the farmers after getting a full estimate, as well as setting up water plants and other development works. The officials clarified that the farmers need not worry and that the company will provide full cooperation. The farmers expressed their joy and ended their protests after receiving a clear assurance from the management. A large number of farmers and local leaders from various villages under the Rekalakunta Panchayat participated in this meeting.
