BJP, Left Implore KCR To Aid Drought-Affected Villages

Telangana BJP chief and Amberpet MLA G Kishan Reddy today demanded that the TRS government take up drought relief works on a war footing to help the affected population.

Reddy, who is visiting the Mahabubnagar district to get on-the-spot information on the drought situation, alleged that the State government was neglecting the problems relating to the drought and the scorching dry spell.

The government had miserably failed to infuse confidence among the affected people that it would deal effectively with the grim situation, he said. There was thus a continuous migration of people from the drought-affected villages in the district to the urban areas to eke out a livelihood, he added.

The migrants had also postponed the marriages of their dear ones due to the drought, Reddy said.

Reddy alleged that the TRS government was not spending funds even after the Centre had sanctioned Rs 800 crores for drought relief works. The BJP had prepared a drought report after visiting all the affected areas in the State and wanted to submit it to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, "but the CM is not giving an appointment", he said. KCR however had a lot of time to welcome leaders from other parties to his party, Reddy derided.

CPI floor leader in Telangana Assembly R Ravindra Kumar also requested KCR for drought-relief measures on a war-footing to tackle the grim situation, and to step up pressure on the Union government for release of adequate financial assistance.

In a letter to the Chief Minister on Sunday, the CPI floor leader urged the former to take the initiative for having the number of work days as well as the wage rates for the rythu coolies under the Rural Employment Assurance Scheme of the Centre, hiked.

He also brought to the notice of the Chief Minister that there was no water to drink for the people and no fodder for the cattle due to the drying up of the wells, ponds and tanks in the villages.

The CPI leader requested the CM to lead an all-Party delegation to the Centre to pressurize it for more funds to tackle the calamitous situation.

He also urged the CM to prepare and announce a comprehensive report on the release of drought mitigation funds by the Centre, the amount spent on drought relief by the State and the details of the expenditure to be incurred for the purpose.