02-07-2025
Tribals protest against hydropower plants
Visakhapatnam: Tribals of Ananthagiri mandal in Alluri Sitarama Raju district on Wednesday demanded the immediate cancellation of the govt order which permits the construction of hydro power plants in Pedakota area.
Braving heavy rains, hundreds of tribals staged a massive protest in Pedakota, inspecting the proposed site for hydropower plant construction. They burned a copy of the GO and strongly opposed the cabinet's decision to approve the project. They demanded the immediate withdrawal of order.
They expressed anger over the decision by the New & Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Ltd. (NREDCAP) to increase the project capacity in the Pedakota area from 800 MW to 1800 MW.
They said that between 2019 and 2025, the state govts approved several lift pumped storage power projects with a capacity of 900 MW in areas between Rayavada, Chintalapudi, and Marika in Pedakota region of Raghavapalem area.
They condemned the alleged attempt to forcibly evict tribals and poor people from their homes in these scheduled areas. They warned of potential clashes between the company (which got the contract) and tribals, claiming that the government must take full responsibility for any such incident.
