VISAKHAPATNAM: The long-pending demand of naming a district after freedom fighter Alluri Sitarama Raju has been finally realised with renaming of the new Araku district as Alluri Sitarama Raju district. Alluri has become an icon among schoolchildren again thanks to Raja Mouli’s latest film RRR in which Ram Charan played the character of Sitarama Raju. “I am very eager to know about Alluri, particularly after watching RRR,” said Abhi, a student of an international school from Anakapalle.
Excitement was palpable among students of class IV to VI of Davinci International School at Timmarajupeta near Anakapalle when they visited the Alluri Sitaramaraju Memorial Theme Park at Krishna Devi Peta where tombs of revolutionary leader Sitarama Raju and his lieutenant Gam Gantam Dora are located.
Generally, more students and people visit the memorial during winter, particularly Kartika month, but nowadays after RRR hit the screens, more children are coming, according to the staff. Speaking to TNIE, DV Lakshmi, a teacher, who led the students, said they had organised the tour for their students to Alluri theme park as most of the children are Ram Charan fans and they don’t know much about the great freedom fighter. “To enlighten them about the history of Alluri and his supreme sacrifices for the rights of tribals, and the freedom struggle, we brought children to the park,” Lakshmi said. Megha Varsha, another student, said she came to the theme park to learn about the freedom struggle waged by Alluri at a young age.
Though the park is getting more visitors, its pathetic condition is a matter of concern. Roof under which the tombs were located is leaking. Screening of short films at a mini hall in the park was stopped after the false ceiling, which caved in, damaged the projector six months ago following heavy rains. The RO plant installed in the park has not been functioning for the last two years. There are no basic amenities such as drinking water facility, food court and public toilets.
The government has recently sanctioned Rs 66 lakh for repair works following a joint inspection on Alluri memorials. Founder president of Alluri Yuvajanam Sangham Veerabhadra Rao said the joint inspection was done after he wrote a letter to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy citing the pathetic condition of the Alluri memorials at Mampa, Rajendrapalem and KD Peta. The restoration works were yet to be started. What is more startling was that even the dates of birth and death of Alluri on the plaque of the tomb at the theme park were wrong. While he was born on July 4, 1897, it is inscribed as July 5, 1897. Similarly, his death date on the plaque is mentioned as May 12, 1924 instead of May 7, 1924. Incidentally this year is the 125th birth anniversary of Alluri and it is celebrated on July 4.
One watchman and two women who are working in the park were not paid salaries for quite some time. Nagamani, who is working as a sanitation staff, has been working at the park for the last 20 years. They have been undergoing severe hardship as they were not being paid their salaries for the last three years.
Watchman Chinababu said he had been working in the park for the last eight years. He said his salary was just Rs 3,000 a month and two women get Rs 2,000 each. “We used to get salaries promptly when Ayyanna Patrudu was a minister. We are not getting salaries from July 2019,” Chinababu said. Condition of the other two memorials, one at Mampa (four acres) where Alluri was caught by Major Gudall of Assam Rifles and Rajendrapalem (seven acres), where he was martyred, was no better. Though the two memorials were developed with `50 lakh each recently, lack of maintenance has a telltale effect at both places. Besides, some anti-socials are reportedly misusing the premises.
Rao said the successive governments have failed to recognise Alluri. The government should develop a tourism circuit, connecting all places associated with Alluri, he said and expressed happiness of naming a district after the great freedom fighter.