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Andhra Pradesh
By T. Lakshmipati
Dr. Reddy took to field visits these days to "expose'' what he calls the gulf between promise and performance by the Government, with focus on Janmabhoomi, which is being targeted by the Congress. Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy interacted with villagers under the shade of a neem tree, and posed questions to them on the spate of promises made by the Chief Minister, when he launched the 12th round of Janmabhoomi in this village on May 1 two years ago. The villagers said "Neeru-meeru'' was symbolically launched by the Chief Minister at the irrigation tank with an ayacut of 200 acres, and that the Chief Minister symbolically dug a pit in the tankbed, thus commencing the desilting work. "Not a cartload of silt has been removed from this tank so far,'' an elderly villager, Gavi Reddy, said. There was no trace of desiltation of tank, which was filled up only once ten years ago due to copious rain. ``This is the fate of the much-touted Neeru-meeru aimed at conserving rainwater and increasing the water table in this arid zone,'' lamented Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy. He was accompanied by the DCC president, A.Venkatrami Reddy, the Congress whip, N. Raghuveera Reddy, and MLAs B. Narayana Reddy, Sivarami Reddy and Suryapratap Reddy. The conversation that Dr. Reddy had with villagers was lively. "The Chief Minister promised to deposit Rs. 5,000 in favour of you the moment a girl child is born in your family. How many of you got this benefit?'' he asked. "None of us,'' they replied. "Perhaps in Government records not a single girl was born in this village these two years,'' Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy said, derisively. Among other promises the Chief Minister made two years ago was to lay a 2-km approach road from Rachapalli to Chalivendala, construct 100 pucca houses for the poor, a health centre manned by an auxiliary nurse midwife, and an anganwadi building, a dhobi ghat and compound wall for a primary school. The compound wall was built and monetary assistance for 12 pucca houses were released, but the houses are still incomplete. ``Confront the officials in the next round of Janmabhoomi and the Congress will take up your problems in the Assembly and on the streets. Lend us your cooperation,'' the Congress leader told them. The villagers said that the Neeru-meeru programme was launched with much fanfare, with the Chief Minister flying into the village by a helicopter amidst tight security, with a large police force standing by, as the village was a scene of encounter only a few days earlier. Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy said that the Government claimed to have planted 20 crore saplings as avenue plantation, and if all these plants survived, it would have brought a transformation in the dry belt. As he was leaving the village after a two-hour stay, residents of Kondur village blocked his way, demanding that he visit their village also. The kidnap of Sidda Ramappa, president, Vana Samrakshana Samithi, three months ago, was the reason for tension in the village. Sida Ramappa's wife gave a petition to Dr. Reddy to help trace the missing person. They alleged that the police were not acting on their complaint as Mallikarjun, TDP leader and MPP president, was behind the kidnap. Dr Reddy visited the village and assured the people that he would take up the matter with the authorities.
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