Two arrested for collision of boats with Prakasam Barrage, minister claims conspiracy (Lead)

Vijayawada, Sep 9 (IANS) Two persons were arrested by police in Andhra Pradesh’s Vijayawada in the incident relating to the collision of five boats with the Prakasam Barrage during the recent floods.

Ushadri, owner of three of the boats, and Komatireddy Rammohan were arrested and produced before a court, which sent them to judicial custody for 14 days.

Police are likely to seek their custody for questioning if there was any conspiracy behind the incident to damage Prakasam Barrage.

The arrests came hours after Minister for Water Resources Nimmala Ramanaidu alleged that there was a conspiracy behind the incident and that investigations are on.

He told media persons that strict action would be taken against those who tried to harm farmers.

The minister said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has taken serious note of the incident. He said there was a conspiracy behind five boats hitting the Prakasam Barrage in a crucial situation where 11.42 lakh cusecs of flood water were flowing.

A thorough investigation is on to find out the facts about the incident.

Five boats weighing 40-50 tonnes each crossed gates 67, 69, and 70 of the Prakasam Barrage during high floods and hit the counterweight but fortunately, did not cause any damage to the main structure or the gates of the barrage.

It is difficult to imagine how much damage would be done to the five districts if the gates or the main structure had really been hit, he said.

The minister said a police complaint was filed by the Irrigation Department. Farmers and farmers’ associations say that this whole incident raises many suspicions. Such heavy boats are usually anchored on the river bank. With each boat valued at Rs 40-50 lakh, tying 3 boats with a single plastic rope raises a lot of doubts.

Suspicions are being raised that such valuable boats were deliberately made to collide with the barrage.

Ramanaidu said out of the total five boats, one boat went down through the gate and three boats were stuck. Efforts were to find the fifth boat. The owner of the three identified boats was said to be a follower of a leader of the YSR Congress Party. He said the boats also have the colour of the YSR Congress Party, he said.

The minister mentioned that the barrage served the combined Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and West Godavari districts for about 100 years from 1854 to 1952. After it was damaged by the floods in 1952, the government reconstructed it and named it after former Chief Minister Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu.

Since 1957, about 13.8 lakh acres have been irrigated and drinking water has been provided to lakhs of people through the Prakasam Barrage.

–IANS

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