Hundreds of Villagers Follow Rahul on His Padayatra Sprint

ADILABAD: It was a moment that many people of the five remote villages in Adilabad were waiting for the past week. None other than Rahul Gandhi is coming to their villages to personally meet and console the farmers in distress.

AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi was joined by hundreds of villagers as he started his Rythu Bharosa Yatra covering 15 km. For many a Congress leader, farmers and even local policemen, keeping up to the pace of Rahul Gandhi looked impossible. They literally ran as Rahul Gandhi and his team of security personnel walked across the 15 km stretch in less than five hours.

The Congress leader launched his walkathon on Friday morning from Koratikal village, about four km from here. Clad in a white kurta-pyjama, the Gandhi-scion walked along with party leaders. He visited the house of Velma Rajeshwar, a farmer who committed suicide following huge crop loss. Rahul Gandhi consoled the family members asking them about the loans they have their financial position and others.

‘’He asked about the death of the farmer and other aspects. He assured all possible assistance to them,’’ Mahender Reddy, a neighbour of Rajeshwar, who translated Rahul Gandhi’s Hindi conversation to Telugu for Gangamma said.

For Mahender, it was a chance that he never had dreamt. From Koratikal, Rahul Gandhi’s walkathon passed through Laxmanchanda, Pottupally, Rachapur and ended at Wadiyal. During the walkathon, Rahul Gandhi interacted with farmers standing on the roadside at a couple of occasions. On one occasion, Rahul Gandhi took a child on his shoulders and carried him for sometime. Rahul Gandhi also interacted with a few tribals and sought to know their problems.

Meanwhile, tribals dressed in their traditional ‘Koya’ attire joined the walkathon but they were stopped by the Special Protection Group (SPG) personnel. Farmers rushed from their villages to have a glance at Rahul Gandhi and the latter cheered them waving his hand as he went along with his marathon. At Laxmanchanda, where he consoled two families of farmers, he also went inside a local reporter’s house where he spend some time.

As Rahul Gandhi entered villages, where he was scheduled to meet families of farmers, police and SPG personnel had tough time to control the crowd. People climbed atop trees and rooftops to have a glimpse of the leader.

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The New Indian Express
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