Nellore:BJP Namami Gange State convener Midathala Ramesh has urged the authorities to obtain the required forest clearances and complete the long-pending irrigation canal works to provide water to 18 rain-fed villages located amidst the hills in Rapur mandal. A team of BJP leaders headed by Ramesh submitted a memorandum to Telugu Ganga SE Subrahmanyeswara Sharma and appealed him to send the representation to the government to initiate action as early as possible. In the representation, BJP leaders detailed that if forest clearances could not be secured, the government should provide irrigation water through alternative lift irrigation system from Kandaleru reservoir for the benefit of farmers of 18 villages of drought prone Rapur mandal. They alleged that despite spending more than Rs 200 crore on works for supplying irrigation water through gravity canals, the project works came to a halt due to the non-availability of forest clearances. Due to lack of water facility, farmers these villages are forced to drill borewells to depths of 700 to 800 feet to obtain water. The BJP demanded completion of the proposed gravity canal from Kandaleru Vagu at 97-metre level to Rapur Pedda Cheruvu, which is situated at an elevation of about 88 metres.