Chandrababu And Lokesh Represent The Depths Of Corruption

Narsapuram, West Godavari District: Today I set foot in this place which is known for many reasons. The famous director, artist and multifaceted genius, Bapu, hailed from here. Narsapuram is the birthplace of several poets, craftsmen and litterateurs. Women have made it a celebrated centre of lace industry, renowned the world over.  It is the only constituency by the sea  in this district. In short, Narsapuram is a place with several distinct qualities and yet, is miles away from progress, thanks to Chandrababu Naidu and his regime, marked by neglect.

Read: Arogyasri Will Be Strengthened Under Rajanna Rajyam: YS Jagan

This morning once again I saw how liquor is eating into the vitals of society and affecting the lives of families, destroying relationships. Swapna, who met me near Likhitapudi, narrated her problems to me. When she was four years old, their house collapsed and she was badly injured.  They were in such an impoverished state that they could not think of any medical treatment. Under such circumstances, thanks to Arogyasri, the pioneering healthcare initiative launched by my father, the late Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy, she was admitted in a corporate hospital and could get plastic surgery done. The sparkle in her eyes had to be seen to be believed, as she recounted her experience. Her hands had to be treated at a later point in time. But because of the manner in which Arogyasri had been watered down completely by the current TDP government, she is not in a position to get plastic surgery done, she lamented. She wept as she recalled that she lost her father to alcoholism, and her mother was forced to go to the Gulf to seek a job. “Anna,  I do not wish to depend on others to survive. Even if I manage to find a  small job which will help me to get by, I will stand on my own feet.” Her self-assurance was something I found very touching and impressive at the same time.

Samuel was also caught in a similar situation. He told me the extent to which 104, 108 services and Arogyasri helped his family during my father’s period. Where his brother’s children got electrocuted, 108 responded promptly with an ambulance and they were rescued from a tragedy after timely admission into a hospital, he recalled.  When he met with a serious accident, 108 ambulance service rushed him to a hospital, where he underwent surgery, free of cost, he recounted. In another instance in his family, when his mother suffered from a stroke, she was rushed to the hospital, thanks to 108 ambulance service, he pointed out. “Anna, Arogyasri  came to our rescue and saved our lives thrice,“ he said expressing his gratitude. Alcohol ruined his family. His father died of addiction to liquor, Samuel said. He lost his two brothers to liver disease, which they developed because of their alcoholism. They died at the age of 40 due to their addiction.

This was something I found disturbing. While my father launched Arogyasri as a healthcare initiative to save and protect human lives, Chandrababu Naidu is allowing the free flow of liquor through belt shops in village after village across the state. As a result, more and more people are falling prey to alcoholism and the very foundation of a healthy society is being shaken. Both Samuel and Swapna wanted only one thing—that Arogyasri be restored to its former glory and that liquor should be driven out of the villages of the state.

Sanitary workers from Panchayats in villages came and met me. “In spite of enjoying no job security and though we are paid a very meagre amount as salary, we have been continuing in this occupation for generations. Now, Panchayat Raj minister, Lokesh is hellbent on outsourcing this work to contractors. He is determined to snatch the few crumbs we get from us," they lamented. I thought that it is wrong to expect the son to be any different from the father! Both will go to any lengths to achieve their selfish objectives. They will not hesitate to sacrifice the lives of the poor or the interests of the state for their own selfish needs. If they descend like vultures upon these poor workers who struggle to make both ends meet, one can imagine how corrupt Lokesh and his father are, as also how extreme their corrupt means can be.

Here’s my poser to the chief minister—at the time of elections, you had promised to regularise the services of all the contract workers. Forget fulfilling that promise, is it not inhuman to remove those in service?  Is it fair on your part to outsource the work being done by sanitation workers who stand on the lowest rung of the socio-economic ladder, to private contractors?