Music for Seema ears

Rayalaseema is rejoicing over the recommendations of the Sivaramakrishnan committee, which has evoked mixed response across Andhra Pradesh. The panel favoured Vinukonda-Donakonda region, which falls in Guntur and Prakasam districts, for building new capital. The report comes as a music for Rayalaseema people as the area recommended by the panel for new capital is geographically and culturally closer to them.
Following the committee's strong pitch for building new capital region in backward areas, activists from Rayalaseema are planning to intensify their campaign with Kurnool Rajadhani Sadhana Samiti calling an all-party meeting next week.
Joining the issue, the Rayalaseema Abhivrudhi Mandali, headed by retired high court judges Justice P Lakshmana Reddy and Justice Allur Gopala Rao, are planning to lead a delegation to New Delhi and meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Rajnath Singh and to impress on him the need for implementing the report in toto. Rayalaseema Rajadhani Sadhana Samiti leaders Chevuri Chandrasekhar Reddy and Chandrasekhar Kalkura said they would announce their action plan, once the final report is made public by the home ministry.
Talking to TOI, Justice Reddy welcomed the recommendations and urged the Centre to honour the report to avoid any possible agitation by Rayalaseema people against `injustice'. "We agree with the views of the panel," said Justice Reddy. "Donakonda has traditional link with Rayalaseema. There won't be any problem for people in the region to accept it as capital," Justice Reddy said.
He expressed the hope that Prime Minister Modi would appreciate the soundness of the recommendations of the Sivaramakrishnan committee.
"The recommendations as reported in the media carried forward the essence of Sri Bagh Pact which underlined the decentralization of development. Sivaramkrishnan rightly recommended Donkakonda area as an ideal location for capital and said no to Vijayawada and Guntur region. It's a well thought-out plan," Justice Reddy said.
Justice Reddy urged the government to convene an all-party meeting to elicit views on the report. Similarly, he suggested that the assembly should debate the matter without whips in order to allow MLAs to express their views freely.
"Ordinary people look towards capital for livelihood and want to migrate. If Vijayawada-Guntur area is developed into a capital, can a poor man afford to have so much as a roof over his head, given the real estate speculation which favours only the super rich" he asked?, adding that intellectuals from Rayalaseema would soon meet PM in support of the report."The fertile regions of VijayawadaGuntur have become a haven for real estate mafia. They want to devour all without leaving anything to others," he said.
Expressing similar sentiment, Justice Gopal Rao, who is actively involved in `capital-for-Rayalaseema' campaign, said people from Rayalaseema would settle down in Donakonda in case Kurnool poses a problem.
"Committee's disinclination to recommend the Vijayawada region as the location for capital should be welcomed. Our first choice is Kurnool as it is the duty of the Centre to restore status quo ante of 1956. If selecting Kunool is a problem, Rayalaseema people could be persuaded to accept Donakonda," Justice Gopal Rao, who hails from Madanapalli, said. He said that the government should not waste money given by donors and the Centre on buying expensive land to build capital. He recalled how the Sri Bagh Pact was reached at the instance of national leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, when Rayalaseema leaders wanted separate state before 1953.
Noted Telugu litterateur from Kadapa Ketu Viswanatha Reddy said the report upheld the backward region's right for the development. "The report is helpful for the integration of coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema. Ignoring its valuable suggestions will pave way for a subregional movement in Rayalaseema," Reddy cautioned.
NO GOVT LAND IN VINUKONDA?
In an interesting twist to the capital muddle, Guntur district administration has clarified that no government land is available in Vinukonda mandal. According to sources, district collector Kanthilal Dande made this clear in his recent report to the government.The revenue department identified about 20,000 acres of `poramboke' (waste) and forest land in Bollapalle mandal near Vinukonda. Bollapalli was once the hotbed of Maoists and was away from human activity. Dominated by local tribals, Bollapalle is 20 km away from Vinukonda, the assembly constituency headquarters. "Land in Bollapalle is dry and rocky. Although it has a road connecting with Vinukonda, it is not easily accessible from the highway," said local tehsildar Krishnamurthy.During Maoists' domination, even police dreaded to stay at Bollapalle. Even the police station was shifted to Vinukonda. Several incidents of exchange of fire were reported in the Nallamala forest close to Bollapalle. The inaccessibility and underdevelopment had helped Maoists build their base in the region. Local MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao said a couple of senior officials were believed to have purchased huge tracts of land near Donakonda during the UPA regime and they were behind promoting Vinukonda-Donakonda region for capital.