KHAMMAM: Thousands of people from five villages in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday staged a protest at Rajupeta on the Bhadrachalam to Cherla road, demanding that their villages be merged with Telangana, even as voices against any such decision continue to be raised.
At the time of bifurcation, these five villages -- Yetapaka, Gundala, Pichukalapadu, Kannaigudem and Purushothapatnam -- had been merged into Andhra Pradesh by the Centre, despite they being located in Bhadrachalam mandal and their proximity to the temple town.
The protesters blocked the road and organised a 'vanta varpu', disregarding the presence of a large number of police personnel. Degala Ramakrishna, who is leading the agitation, said the five villages will not be affected by Polavaram project but they were unnecessarily merged with Andhra Pradesh in 2014.
"We have to depend on Bhadrachalam for our livelihood. Once the Polavaram project gets completed, we would have no access to Andhra Pradesh. The entire four mandals would be submerged and there will not be any connectivity with AP," he said, adding they could develop only if their villages are merged into Telangana.
Meanwhile, Gonagdi Venkatarami Reddy, MPTC of Gundala, told The New Indian Express that there was no question of these villages merging with Telangana. "In fact, we demand that Bhadrachalam village be merged into Andhra Pradesh," he said.
However, the protesters said that they have been demanding the merger of their villages into Telangana right from the time of bifurcation but the Union government remained unmoved despite their protests.
They said that they are suffering as they have to go to Paderu in Alluri Sitaramaraju district in AP, which is about 350 km from their villages, to get anything official done, while Bhadrachalam town is very close by. The protesters also said that their villages were submerged in the recent floods but no AP government official visited them nor was any relief work taken up.
However, Venkatrami Reddy insisted that the people were happy with the welfare schemes of the AP government and want to continue in AP. "We have also conducted a meeting with the sarpanches of all five villages and passed a resolution against the propaganda that is going on about the readiness of the people in these village to merge with Telangana," Venkatrami Reddy claimed, while admitting that they depend on Bhadrachalam village for education and medical facilities.
K Narayana of Kannaigudem said, "Due to the merger of five villages, we are suffering in all aspects, including education, health and income." He accused the Andhra Pradesh government of completely neglecting these five villages. "Vexed with Andhra rulers, the people of these five GPs have once again come onto the roads today and raised our voice against the Union government," Narayana said.
Bhadrachalam MLA Podem Veeraiah appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and AP Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to find a permanent solution to the issue.
Kothagudem former MLA K Sambasiva Rao alleged that the Centre merged the five villages unilaterally, without taking the opinion of the people. Leaders of all parties passed a resolution to support the people’s protest till the Centre agrees to their demand. Representatives from the Congress, TRS, BJP, CPI and CPM participated in the protest.