ANANTAPUR : Once known for its development and hailed as the second Bombay for its textile industries, the Guntakal Assembly constituency is now in dire need of a helping hand for its resurgence.
One of the seven Assembly constituencies in Anantapur district, Guntuakal has three mandals—Guntakal, Gooty, and Pamidi. Guntakal is also the railway division headquarters and where Asia’s largest spinning mill used to exist. The constituency is also famous for its third-century Gooty fort.
Even as the other constituencies in the region develop with more industries coming their way and old ones getting revived, there is development taking place in the constituency and it has been regressing day by day. The promises made to the people of the constituencies during elections have not just remained tall talk but empty walk.
Guntakal Spinning Mill employed 1,352 people directly and several depended on it indirectly. It was started in 1954 in the cooperative sector and was locked down in 1991. Since then, during every election, promises have been made for its revival, but even after more than three decades, nothing has happened.
Even during the runup to the 2019 elections, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan, and the current Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy have given assurance for its revival during their election campaign in Guntakal. However, nothing happened, leaving people of the region dejected. Now, yet again people are looking forward to the leaders giving some concrete assurances.
It is not just Guntakal Spinning Mill that was locked down, there are several other small and medium industries that were closed down in the constituency in the past several years. They include the sleeper coach unit of the Indian Railway. It went to Mantralayam of Kurnool district.
Pamidi mandal of the constituency was famous as the second Bombay and used to provide employment to around 25,000 people directly and indirectly. The government set up a textile park expecting large scale employment. However, due to neglect of the government afterward, the textile park is now on the verge of closure.
Gooty fort was constructed during the era of Emperor Ashoka as evidenced by the stone inscriptions. At Yerragudi in Jonnagiri, located 12 km from Gooty, eleven stone inscriptions explain this hill fort, which is one of the biggest in the country. Historical evidence points out that Chalukyan king Vikramaditya-V named the fort at Gutii and in later centuries kings of Vijayanagara fortified it further. There are 101 wells in this hill fort and after the Vijayanagara Empire, it fell into the hands of Qutub Shahis and later came under the reign of Murari Rao Ghorpade.
Though promises were made to make the place a tourist hub, no action was forthcoming. “Gooty is part of Indian history but lay neglected. Given the proximity to the national highway and railway connectivity, there is a need for it to be developed as an international tourist spot. Greenery has to be increased and MPLADS or MLA funds of Rs 50 lakh be spent on it every year and constructing a ropeway to this hillfort would be an added attraction,” opined C Vijaya Bhaskar, founder president of Gooty Fort Conservation Society.
Lack of proper drinking water and irrigation water facilities is another major problem for the constituency. Distributary canals from HNSS remain incomplete. Despite the Gooty Branch Canal, water is not provided to its capacity, leading to irrigation difficulties for the farmers of the constituency. Though assurances were given for lift irrigation projects at Kasapuram and Ragulapadu, nothing has materialised.
Gaddala Mastanappa of Gooty said they get water once in 15 to 20 days and problems only increased after Gooty became a municipality. “We only get empty promises every election,” he said in a dejected voice
“It is a pity that none of the promises made were kept. It is high time the Gooty railway zone is created and water for drinking and irrigation is provided through Handri Neeva Sujala Sravanthi (HNSS) project and own buildings for Guntakal Polytechnic college are given,” said G Srinivasulu, a resident of Guntakal.
Male 1,34,304
Female 1,35,656
Transgender 76
Total electorate 2,67,036
