The Hindu : MLA's padayatra culminates in dharna

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 16, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

MLA's padayatra culminates in dharna

By Our Staff Reporter

KARIMNAGAR FEB.15. The BJP MLA of Metpally, T Venkataramana Reddy's three-day padayatra from Metpally to Karimnagar town concluded with a massive dharna in front of the Collectorate on Saturday evening amid tense situation.

Mr Venkataramana Reddy had launched the padayatra from Metpally on Thursday demanding that the district administration utilise the Food-for-Work scheme for strengthening and repairs of breached tanks and taking up feeder channels. As proposed, the padayatra reached Karimnagar on Saturday afternoon where the BJP State president, C Ramachandra Reddy, and some district leaders also joined the yatra alongwith the MLA. Several hundred BJP followers and the farmers also participated in the padayatra in the town.

As soon as the yatra reached the Collectorate, the BJP leaders before addressing a public meeting decided to submit a memorandum to the Collector, Sumita Dawra. When a delegation led by the BJP State president, the legislator and others reached the main gate, the police closed the doors and refused their entry into the premises. Irked over this, the agitationists staged a dharna in front of the Collectorate gate demanding the arrival of the Collector, who was out of district headquarters on some work.

The BJP leaders raised slogans against the Collector for over two hours. In the meantime, the Joint Collector, Anil Kumar, reached the spot and tried to convince the agatationists. But they refused to hand over the memorandum and demanded the arrival of Collector as the legislator had informed the Collector's Camp Clerk of the decision to submit memorandum directly to the Collector.

Later, in the evening the Collector arrived and was sitting in her chambers. On the other hand, several other BJP leaders, who had entered the premises from another gate, rushed to the Collectorate building complex and raised slogans demanding that the Collector come down and receive the memorandum from the legislator.

After sometime, the legislator and the BJP State president and others were allowed to go inside and the Collector also received the memorandum at the main entrance of the Collectorate buildings.

Talking to newsmen, the BJP State president demanded that the State government and the district administration take up repairs of breached tanks and feeder channels to conserve rainwater under the Food-for-Work scheme. Stating that the district had utilised over Rs 102 crores worth of rice under the FFW scheme, he said that the legislator had launched the padayatra in protest against the negligence of his Assembly segment in the implementation of the FFW scheme.

To a question, he clarified that the padayatra programme was not against the Government. But it was taken up only to highlight the neglect of the Assembly segment people who were demanding solution to their problems, he added. He also said that they were also urging the Centre to allocate more drought relief funds to the State.

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