ELURU: Tension prevailed at Allipalli in Chintalapudi mandal of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday when Telangana Roads and Buildings Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao came to unveil a pylon that was constructed as a memorial for a road sanctioned between Dammapet village that falls in Telangana and Mandalapalli in AP. According to information, the Telangana government recently sanctioned a road that provides transportation facility to Dammapeta to Mandalapalli in Andhra Pradesh. Nageswara Rao who represents Sattupalli constituency sanctioned funds for the proposed road. As part of this, Telangana officials constructed a pylon 320 meters inside Andhra Pradesh near Allipallli.
However, the Andhra Pradesh officials did not raise any objection while the pylon was constructed. Allipalli villagers said the pylon should not be in their village and Telangana had no business building the structure without permission. When the Telangana Minister came to Allipalli on Saturday to unveil the pylon, the villagers protested. When Nageswara Rao told them that the road would be useful to both Telangana and Andhra villages, they were not convinced.
He even pointed out that he strived for the development of both areas in two States when he was minister in united Andhra Pradesh.Refusing to buy his argument, the villagers stood their ground and asked him not to inaugurate the pylon. In the face of stiff resistance from the villagers, the minister after a word with West Godavari District Collector K Bhaskar left the place.
Later, the village revenue officer of Allipalli removed the arrangements made for unveiling of the pylon by Telangana minister. The minister and R&B officials are learnt to have decided to build another pylon in a Telangana village. It is learnt that Chintalapudi MLA and former minister Peethala Sujatha, too, objected to the construction of the pylon in Allipalli, which falls in her constituency.