Nellorians worried over district reorganisation

Nellore: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s plans to form new districts based on Parliamentary constituencies has been causing anxiety among the people of SPSR Nellore district.

The reason: All the industrially developed area in the district is concentrated in Sarvepalli, Gudur, Venkatagiri and Sullurpeta falling under the limits of Tirupati Parliamentary constituency.

Speculations are also rife over naming the Tirupati Lok Sabha segment as Balaji district.  

What worries people is that Krishnapatnam Port, Sri City, ISRO’s Space Port at Sriharikota, all the thermal power plants, Apache SEZ, Mambattu SEZ, Menakuru SEZ, Citrus Research Station in Venkatagiri and Kandaleru dam will be part of the proposed Balaji district.

Moreover, the manufacturing units in Sri City and Menakuru and edible oils imported through Krishnapatnam port contribute nearly `1,000 crore to the commercial tax division in Nellore and all this would go to the Balaji district alone, if divided.

In fact, the revenue growth is at the rate of 20 per cent every year, according to the commercial tax officials.

Once bifurcated, the original Nellore district will be left with backward constituencies such as Atmakur, Udayagiri, Kavali and Kandukur, in addition to Kovur, Nellore city and Nellore Rural.  Somasila Project will also be a part of Nellore district.

Sources in the revenue department said that the state government has collected information regarding the boundaries and population of both Nellore and Tirupati Lok Sabha constituencies, as part of its exercise to establish the new districts.

According to the revenue officials, Balaji district (Tirupati PC) will have Sarvepalli, Gudur, Venkatagiri, Sullurpeta Assembly segments from Nellore district and Srikalahasti, Sathyavedu and Tirupati from Chittoor district.  

Coming to the Nellore district, it would comprise Nellore city, Nellore Rural, Kovur, Atmakur, Udayagiri and Kavali constituencies in Nellore district and Kandukuru constituency in Prakasam district.

Social media is abuzz with sarcastic comments from people over the formation of Balaji and Nellore districts.

In a post on WhatsApp, an irritated citizen says Nellore will be left with dosa outlets, gold shops in Chinna Bazar, cloth stores in Kapu Street and grocery stores in Stonehousepeta while the lucrative industrial area will go to the Balaji district.