Rayalaseema Leaders Want Capital For Rayala-Andhra

On Tuesday, the Centre decided to finally give its nod to the formation of a separate Telangana state, and pro-Telangana activists took to the streets to celebrate their long-awaited victory with much pomp and show.

Meanwhile, the people of the areas which will be left behind once Telangana has been carved out of Andhra Pradesh are not very keen on celebrating just yet. Leaders from the Rayalaseema and Andhra regions have resolved that they will agree to be part of "Rayala-Andhra" only if their demands are met with.

To begin with, they want that the Rayala-Andhra region gets its due share of the Krishna river waters. Secondly, they want that the capital be built somewhere within the limits of the combined "state" of Rayala-Andhra.

Minister for Minor Irrigation, T G Venkatesh, who has been quite vocal in his denouncement of the demand for Telangana formation, reportedly said that the leaders would accept the formation of Rayala-Andhra only if their demands were fulfilled.

He also said that if the Centre chooses to ignore these demands, the leaders will launch an agitation for the formation of a separate state of 'Greater Rayalaseema'.

Venkatesh also sad that these leaders had always wanted Andhra Pradesh to stay united. According to certain sources, Venkatesh said that they were planning to take legal action against the formation of Telengana.

The Centre has decided that Hyderabad will be named as the capital of Telangana, and the Polavaram project in Andhra had been declared as a national project. Venkatesh pointed out that injustice had always been meted out to the people of Rayalaseema, and that the region, which comprises of 4 districts, was the most backward region of the state.

He said that Rayalaseema had the most number of mandals that were susceptible to droughts.