ADILABAD: In the heart of Kumurambheem-Asifabad district, residents of the Sirpur Assembly constituency face many pressing issues, but the most challenging one is the state of its roads, or lack of them. While the issue affects everyone throughout the year, it poses a serious challenge for pregnant women during the monsoon season as visiting the hospital for childbirth becomes an arduous task.
Adding to the constituency’s challenges is its historical association with Maoist activity. In the 1990s, MLA Palvai Purushotham Rao fell victim to Maoist violence in his office in Kagaznagar. The coming election is expected to witness a close contest between sitting BRS MLA Koneru Konappa, Palvai Harish Babu of the BJP, RS Praveen Kumar of the BSP, and Ravi Srinivas of the Congress.
Sharing its border with Maharashtra, the primary occupation in the constituency is agriculture, heavily reliant on erratic rainfall due to the absence of adequate irrigation facilities. The existing lift irrigation schemes have long ceased to operate. Adding to the woes of the farmers is the shifting of the irrigation project across the Pranahita River. Initiated by the late Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, the Thummidihatti irrigation project faced an uncertain fate with the formation of Telangana and it was ultimately shelved in favour of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme by the KCR government.
Endowments Minister A Indrakaran Reddy and officials visited the constituency and promised another barrage on the river but the promise remains on paper till date. Key issues plaguing the constituency include the absence of major industries, prompting migrations to Hyderabad for employment. Despite the reopening of the Sirpur Paper Mill (SPM) in Kagaznagar, promises of local employment remain unfulfilled.
The lack of roads and bridges, particularly in certain mandals, compounds the hardships faced by residents. A recent bridge collapse near Andhavelli village in Kagaznagar can be seen as a cry for infrastructure development. Reconstruction work on the bridge is on. Additionally, the absence of medical facilities in the constituency forces people to travel to Hyderabad or Chandrapur in Maharashtra for treatment. The constituency has seven mandals: Kouthala, Bejjur, Dahegaon, Sirpur, Kagaznagar, Penchkalpet and Chinthalamanapelli. Only Kagaznagar is a municipality and all seven mandals struggle with basic amenities.
Since 1952, Sirpur has witnessed 16 elections, with the Congress, TDP, TRS, BSP, independents and the Socialist Party making their mark at different times. Voters like A Ramesh rue the lack of development and employment opportunities and the indifference of municipal authorities. “Though we have a paper mill here, we have not got any jobs. No other industry has come up in our constituency. Kagaznagar needs to be developed but the municipal authorities appear to be not taking much interest,” Ramesh said. The constituency also grapples with environmental concerns like the migration of tigers from Tadoba Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra to Kagaznagar due to a thick forest cover.
