The Peddavagu river is situated in Ada village, Komaram Bheem Asifabad district of Telangana. The project was proposed to supply water to the Asifabad district, Wankidi, kagaznagar, and Sirpur Mandals on more than 45,000 acres. But as of now, the project is offering irrigation water of about 20,000 acres under its left canal 35km.
The right canal will provide irrigation water for another 25,000 acres. The Peddavagu or also called Jagannadhpur is the medium, of this irrigation project. And the scheme proposed is to irrigate about 15,000 acres.
However, the project was named after Komaram Bheem who was a tribal leader who fought against the Asaf Jahi Dynasty for the liberation of Hyderabad State. Komaram Bheem fought against the ruling Nizam government. He fought against Nizam Nawab’s forces and fought Babi Jhari until his last breath.
The Sirpur Paper Mills was always accused of releasing wastes into the water posing threat to animals, humans, and other life forms. The closure of Sirpur Paper Mills at Kagaznagar town brought the eruption of employees lives of almost 5000 workers but on the other hand, it has also helped to protect the water and reduce air pollution, and water pollution in the area.
Now the clean water of the Peddavagu brought relief to the aquatic animals’ lives, animals, and the other seven villages of Dahegaon and Bejjur mandals of Komaram Bheem, Asifabad district which is located on the river banks. Before the closure of the Paper company, it used to get polluted which impacts the villages on a large scale, villages including, chedvai, Bombaiguda, Penchikalpet, Agarguda, Gundepalli, Kammargaon, and Nandigam.
The SPM, where the paper production company started in 1942, was always responsible for releasing pollutants into the rivers posing threat to aquatic animals and other life forms. Paper production was suspended at the mill in October as they suffered from the loss.
These released pollutants in the Peddavagu created damage to the area and to the water which causes the death of animals. Villagers raised their voices against it a decade ago. The SPM company also installed the waste treatment plant but the complaints wouldn’t stop from the villagers.
Even their cattle and animals refused to drink water from the river because the river is polluted widely. The flow of clean water in Peddavagu also indicates a happy sign for the area resident on the Pala Rapu cliff on the banks of Peddavagu near Nandigam village in Bejjur Mandal.
According to villagers, the scavenger birds had died in the past after drinking the water from polluted river streams which were caused by pollutants discharged from the SPM.
Also Visit: Kaleshwaram Village, Temple & Lift Irrigation Project!
