Date:11/10/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/10/11/stories/2007101151830300.htm

Andhra Pradesh

196 get eviction notices

Correspondent

Will hit people living there since 1984: TDP leader

Ashok calls on the families
Congress charged with ignoring drinking water issue

VIZIANAGARAM: While the State Government has been allotting houses and possession certificates under ’Indiramma’ programme to the poor the Mandal Revenue Office here has served eviction notices on 196 poor families in the 24th ward. B. Appa Rao of the TDP is the ward councillor.

At a press conference here on Wednesday, the TDP town committee president I.V.P. Raju and party floor leader in the Municipal Council V.S. Prasad said that the families had been living on the government land since 1984 and they were issued pattas and possession certificates, keeping in view their economic status, during the TDP rule. Ironically, some of the families had even received bank loans for construction of pucca houses, Mr. Raju said. Former Revenue Minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju visited the ward this morning and interacted with the people there.

The party president said that during ’vaada vaadala TDP’ programme details of irregularities in the identification of eligible families for allotment of houses were came to his notice.

Dr. Prasad, who was the former State vice-president of Indian Medical Association, said that the municipality had retrenched 176 contract sanitation workers without giving a thought to the poor sanitary conditions during monsoon. He said already a case of dengue from V.T. Agraharam and many more epidemic cases from around the town were reported at his clinic.

On water logging at Clock Tower, Municipal Office area and at other places he suggested desiltation of the main canal by using modern equipment instead of resorting to destruction of structures.

The party senior leader Prasadula Ramakrishna, who was present, feared that the recent clearance for bauxite mining by the Centre thus paving for Jindal to set up alumina refinery in S.Kota mandal would contaminate the Rs. 24-crore Mushidipalli drinking water scheme under Thatipudi reservoir.

He criticised the local Congress leaders for ignoring drinking water problem the people of the town would face on account of the factory. District Telugu Yuvatha president M. Madhu was present.