Road works under way opposite the site where an ethanol factory is coming up, at Arugolanu village in Krishna district.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
With an ethanol factory coming up amidst their fields, farmers in Arugolanu village in Bapulapadu mandal of Krishna district have expressed fears over its impact on their farms and nearby irrigation canals.
On July 13 (Saturday), farmers K. Raghava Rao and Venkata Ratnam, along with Human Rights Forum (HRF) activists, met the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) officials to bring their concerns to their notice. The APPCB officials, it is learnt, have informed them that a report would be sought on the issue.
Mr. Raghava Rao, a farmer who has a four-acre paddy field next to the factory, says the affected villagers are planning to meet the Krishna District Collector and the Mandal Revenue Officer soon to discuss the issue with them.
“We did not know that a factory was coming up until six months ago. Neither did we know what factory it was. Every time we tried to ask the people on the construction site about what factory it was, we got different answers. It was recently that we got to know it is an ethanol factory,” says Mr. Rao.
As per the Environment Clearance (EC) given to the factory, Sri Hanuman Biofuels Private Limited, dated November 2, 2022, the project proponent should inform the public about the same within seven days of having received the EC.
M. Venkata Ratnam, another farmer from the village, who has gathered information about what an ethanol factory is, says: “We have learnt that such factories require a lot of water. They have got permission to draw water from the Veeravalli channel of the Eluru Canal nearby. Six villages are dependent on this for their irrigation needs.”
As per the EC, the factory’s daily requirement of 800 KLD will be met from the Eluru Canal (Point 9). But the farmers here say that the canal has lean flows and remains dry half of the year.
“When the flow is already less, what will remain if most of the water is taken by the factory,” the farmers said. The factory, coming up in 15.37 acres, is surrounded by nearly 150 acres of agricultural land, they say.
Officials from the Irrigation Department have allayed the fears of the farmers, saying priority would be given to irrigation needs. “We will release water from the channel to the factory only after the irrigation needs are met,” an official said.
