Praja Sankalpa Yatra Diary, Day 35: Is The TDP Government Promoting Heritage At The Cost of Local Dairies?

December 15, Chigicherla, Anantapur district: It has been ten days since I started the Padayatra in Anantapur district. My fatigue evaporates, I feel exhilarated and lose track of time when I experience the love and affection of the thousands of people who pour out into the streets spontaneously to join the yatra, hour after hour, day after day. How do I find words to describe the joy I feel as this sea of humanity surges ahead with me? This unprecedented response is a constant reminder to me—a reminder that my father had bequeathed to me a large family that includes every citizen in the state.

As I reached Kandukuru, Maheswari and several other women met me. They told me that at one time, Kandukuru used to be at the top of the chart in dairy production in the whole district. Every family here was given cows and bullocks under the Pasu Kranthi scheme put in place by my late father. “Every house boasted of no less than three cattle. Even during tough times, the livestock helped us tide over crises. We could get our children educated. This is the reason why the people here love YSR so much,” they said.

I recollected my father’s staunch belief that a house that boasts of livestock and has dairy production will never have a financial crunch. In places like Anantapur, only one or two crops in a decade are profitable. For the rest of the seasons, the district is stricken by drought, crop loss and water scarcity. As a result, people are forced to migrate to other places for livelihood. It is to reverse this trend that my late father had launched the twin remedies of Employment Guarantee scheme and the Pasu Kranthi.

I was under the impression that only the Employment Guarantee scheme was plagued by problems under the present TDP government. I now realize that Pasu Kranthi too is suffering the same fate. While Anantapur dairy used to collect 80,000 litres of milk a day during the YSR era, the milk collection now has slumped to 15,000 litres a day. At this rate, the day is not far off when the dairy could be shut down permanently, fear the locals. If the dairy sector is neglected, thousands of families, who derive their sustenance from this sector, will be left in the lurch.

As I walked ahead, I noticed a woman sitting by the side of the road. I walked up to her and sat by her side. She told me her name was Salamma. Both her legs had been paralysed. Though she had made several rounds to the Grievance Cell requesting for a tricycle, the authorities remained unmoved. This is a typical example of this Government’s insensitivity to the disabled.

Three patients suffering from kidney ailments met me in the same village. Akkulappa, one of them, told me that he has to get medicines worth Rs 5,000 every month from the city. Unable to bear the expenses, he is now going to the town once in eight months when the suffering becomes unbearable. Their plight has left me shaken and has further strengthened my resolve to increase the pension amount to persons suffering from chronic ailments so that they do not have to worry about cost-intensive medical procedures.

As I conclude, here’s my question to the Chief Minister! Is it not a fact that you had plotted the closure of several government-run dairies only to strengthen and expand your Heritage dairy? Will you offer cash incentive on milk procurement to sustain and develop the dairy industry in the state?