KHAMMAM: Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao sent letters to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the chief ministers of both Telugu states — N Chandrababu Naidu of Andhra Pradesh and A Revanth Reddy of Telangana — urging them to initiate measures to merge five villages around Bhadrachalam into Telangana.
He noted in the letter that during the bifurcation of undivided Andhra Pradesh, Bhadrachalam was included in Telangana. However, the five surrounding gram panchayats — Yatapaka, Kannaigudem, Pichukalapadu, Purushothapatnam and Gundala — were marked for AP. Nageswara Rao demanded that the villages be brought under Telangana’s jurisdiction, citing administrative convenience.
The minister pointed out that while the historic Sri Sitaramachandra Swamy temple of Bhadrachalam lies in Telangana, several of its temple lands and assets are located in Purushothapatnam village of Andhra Pradesh. This, he said, has created difficulties in managing temple properties, records and developmental works.
“Even essential infrastructure, such as a dumping yard for the temple is unavailable for want of land within the current municipal limits,” Nageswara Rao added, highlighting that the villages are home to several tribal families who depend on Bhadrachalam for education, healthcare and transportation.
The minister clarified that the demand was non-political and stemmed from genuine public sentiment and administrative necessity. “For the past decade, tribals, local gram sabhas and various organisations have repeatedly sought this merger,” he wrote in the letter.