VIJAYAWADA: YSR Congress chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy on Monday vowed to rename Krishna district after the Telugu Desam Party founder president Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao.
After announcing this at Nimmakuru, the birthplace of the matinee idol, Jaganmohan Reddy tweeted, “NTR garu devoted his life to the service of Telugus, especially the downtrodden. As a tribute to him, standing on his home ground, Nimmakuru, during my padayatra, I pledge to rename Krishna district after NTR.”
Relatives of NTR in the village reportedly took Jaganmohan Reddy to the tank where earthmovers were excavating sand and gravel. They told the YSR Congress leader that it was being done in the name of Neeru-Chettu by some TDP leaders. They complained to Jaganmohan Reddy that a tractor load of sand was being sold for `400 and a truckload for `600 illegally by the ruling party leaders. The very leaders who bagged the Neeru-Chettu contact were claiming bills for `8.5 lakh for executing the programme.
The villagers rued that the TDP leaders were digging up to 50 feet depth for sand. This would pose a grave threat to groundwater in the region. The village was adopted by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh. They alleged that Lokesh had done little for the village of his grandfather. They also alleged that in the name of underground drainage public funds were being misappropriated.