My Portfolios Are Close To My Heart: Pawan Kalyan

Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan today said that his portfolios of panchayat raj, rural development and rural water supply were close to his heart, and closely related to the basic principles of his Jana Sena Party.

"These responsibilities make me happy. Panchayati raj, rural development, rural water supply, environment, forestry, science and technology - I believe that all these departments directly impact the people and bring the government closer to them," he said.

"I have been in direct politics since 2008, and have travelled extensively in both the Telugu States. Before the 2019 elections, I had planned my Praja Porata Yatra to study people's issues and infrastructure creation. There I got a strong understanding of the problems of every region of the State. I saw for myself the problems in the villages. Villagers all over the State are using polluted water sources for drinking water under unavoidable circumstances, and many have to travel miles for even that. While touring Visakhapatnam, I went to a tribal village called Kuridi. The girls of the village narrated their struggles for water, and showed me the contaminated water in the well they used. I also remember the travails of the villages of Thotavalasa village in the area. When I went to the Godavari districts, the residents of many fishing villages told me how hard it was for them to get drinking water," he added.

Kalyan said that the slogan of "rural development - national development" had stayed just that, and that he was determined to use the resources at his disposal as a minister now to ensure that the lives of the rural population of the State got much better.