Hans News Service Anantapur

Raisingthe acute drought conditions caused by the El Niño phenomenon in Anantapur district during Zero Hour in the Legislative Assembly, Raptadu MLA Paritala Sunitha urged the state government to immediately sanction ` 1 crore per mandal to tackle severe drinking water shortages.

Highlighting the crisis in her constituency, MLA Sunitha pointed out that groundwater levels have plummeted drastically, leaving borewells dry even at depths of 1,000 feet.

She noted that heavily populated regions like Anantapur Rural mandal, housing over 70,000 voters, are facing acute shortages. She requested deploying additional water tankers and releasing at least 30 percent capacity into local irrigation tanks through the Handri-Neeva project to replenish groundwater and supply drinking water for livestock.

She also requested expediting the completion of unfinished Rythu Bharosa Kendras and Secretariat buildings.

Speaking during a short discussion on the ‘Super Six’ welfare initiatives, MLA Sunitha commended Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu for implementing transformative schemes.

She highlighted that ` 52 crore reached 40,000 mothers in Raptadu under Talliki Vandanam, while ` 136 crore was distributed to 51,000 local farmers through Annadatha Sukhibhava. Furthermore, she appreciated the seamless doorstep delivery of pensions under NTR Bharosa. Addressing issues arising from the Stree Shakti free bus travel initiative for women, MLA Sunitha noted that buses are severely overcrowded, with passenger loads reaching 60 to 80 per trip. She appealed to the Transport Department to immediately augment the RTC fleet with new buses and recruit additional drivers and conductors to relieve operational stress.