Chandrababu Owes An Explanation To The People Of Nagaram   

Bheemanapalli, East Godavari District: Driven by the love and affection showered by people, Praja Sankalpa Yatra reached the milestone of 200 days. In this long journey through most parts of the state, I could get to meet and interact with lakhs of people. I could see for myself, from very close quarters, the impoverished lives of the weakest of the weaker sections of society. They told me at length how they had been betrayed and deceived in multiple ways. The trials and tribulations of people from all walks of life under the accursed rule of Chandrababu Naidu, were manifold.

Jafri Begum of Nagaram met me this afternoon. Her eyes welled up with tears as she narrated her tale of sorrow. She lost her husband in a road accident 15 years ago. She did some tailoring work to educate her two daughters. To her misfortune, there was yet another cruel twist of fate in her life. Both her kidneys began to fail, and dialysis became inevitable for survival. In order to get dialysis done, she had to go to Kakinada she said, as she began to sob. I felt disturbed by what she told me. At that moment, I was reminded of the fact that four years ago the Nagaram pipeline explosion took place claiming 22 lives and critically injuring 18 others. I had visited the families of the victims, met them and consoled them. I remember the commotion which Chandrababu Naidu had created and the short-lived frenetic activity.

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Chandrababu Naidu had promised to transform Nagaram into a model village. What happened to that promise?  The deputy chief minister gave 18 commitments in the presence of GAIL officials. Has at least one of them been fulfilled?  They had promised a super speciality Hospital for Nagaram. Where is the hospital? Had it really taken shape, Jafri Begum would not have had to endure the suffering she does now. What did Chandrababu Naidu achieve in the four years which the TDP spent as an ally of the BJP, except for furthering his own selfish interests? Did he spend a single moment trying to ensure that justice is done to the people of this place? Whatever happened to the funds given under corporate social responsibility (CSR) by oil companies? Had they been utilised responsibly and channelised in the right direction, would Konaseema have faced this fate? These are questions being asked by the people of Konaseema. Jafri Begum is but one of the many victims to whom Chandrababu Naidu owes an explanation.

Women from Vilasavalli, which has a number of families from the weaving community, greeted me with a specially prepared garland made of silk. Venkatalakshmi, took me to show the loom on which she had been weaving. She told me in detail how daily life was an upward climb for people like her. She and her husband worked for 15 hours a day at the loom and yet, were barely able to earn Rs.150 at the end of the day. “How do we survive on this meagre amount?” This was her question. Their traditional, family occupation drove them into poverty and debt, she complained.   Their health was also getting affected, she lamented. The government, which was supposed to help them and stand by them, remained completely indifferent, she said. Commitments made by the TDP, including loan waiver remained unfulfilled, she pointed out.

She deplored that people were quitting their traditional occupation of weaving and were working as labourers or construction supervisors. Expressing her anguish, she said that at this rate, looms would soon become extinct.  She recalled the tenure of my father, the late Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy and how they had benefited from his welfare programmes and governance. I assured her that better times lay ahead, as I moved on.

The news in papers that 20,000 vacancies would be filled up in the next eight months and a notification would soon be issued to this effect, came as a surprise to me. Another shocker was the news that the Cabinet had decided to appoint a Commission to include the fishermen community in STs and the Vaddera and Rajaka communities in SCs.

I have a question for the chief minister— you did nothing in these four years to fill up 1.42 lakh vacancies in the government. Are you not cheating the unemployed youth of the state by saying that your government would fill up 20,000 vacancies in the next few months when elections are round the corner? Does it not expose the hollowness of your unfulfilled promises including that of unemployment allowance on which there is no clarity? Are you not cheating the fishermen, Rajaka and Vaddera communities by promising to include them among STs and STs by appointing a commission, knowing fully well that it is not within your jurisdiction and that the decision lies with the Centre? Is it not a token exercise and a part of your delaying tactics?