Bapulapadu Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO) Murali Krishna on Tuesday, October 7, visited Arugolanu village in Krishna district to inquire into farmers’ complaints over the construction of an ethanol plant.
The visit followed directions from the Chief Minister’s Office. In January this year, Human Rights Forum (HRF) activists and farmers from the village had met Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu at the TDP central office in Mangalagiri and submitted a petition seeking his intervention to halt the factory’s activities. The plant, located amid agricultural fields and close to a government school, has raised local concerns over pollution and water usage.
The complainants said the 200-kilo litre per day (KLPD) plant, spread over 15 acres, lies just 200 metres from the Veeravalli Channel 1 of the Eluru Canal — the main irrigation source for the area. They expressed fears that the factory’s discharge could harm crop yields.
During his field visit, Mr. Murali Krishna interacted with villagers and HRF representatives and collected feedback, according to a release from HRF.
“We explained that although 0.01 tmc ft of water has been allocated for the village’s drinking and industrial needs, this one factory alone would require 0.02602 tmc ft. The canal has lean flows for four months and remains dry for another four,” said HRF activist G. Rohith. He also noted that Arugolanu falls under the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) limits, where zoning rules prohibit industries near agricultural fields.
The MRO assured villagers that he would submit his report along with the collected data to Krishna District Collector D.K. Balaji, the release added.
Published – October 07, 2025 11:01 pm IST
