Border villages of Maharashtra want merger with Telangana: KTR

SIRCILLA: Attracted to the “enormous development taking place in Telangana and with the welfare schemes that are implemented” in the state, the people living in the border villages in Maharashtra are urging Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to merge their villages with TS, IT minister KT Rama Rao has said.

The minister, on a visit to the Rajanna Sircilla district on Tuesday, laid the foundation for construction of the Vemulawada Temple Development Authority building at a cost of Rs 20 crore and for renewal works of R&B as also Panchayat Raj buildings at a cost of Rs 52 crore.

The event was held at the premises of Dr. CNR Kala Mandir in Vemulawada. Later, the minister inaugurated the newly constructed Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) built at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore in Rudrangi mandal.

Speaking at a public meeting, KTR said Rudrangi village that was once the headquarters for many banned Maoists outfits has been converted into a mandal after formation of the Telangana state and development here is now an ongoing process.

Orders were issued to the district collector to sanction funds for taking up developmental works in Rudrangi mandal and to provide various facilities in the KGBV along with a computer lab, he said.

“A 30 bed hospital will be sanctioned for Rudrangi. After the Sankranti festival, I along with MLA Ch Ramesh Babu, will visit the area one more time and check the progress of the developmental works,” the minister said and added: “By reaching drinking water to every household under the Mission Bhagiratha project, the Telangana government helped women, who in the past had to trek long distances to fetch water.”

He said, “Several developmental works were taken up in the education sector with a total investment of Rs 123 crore in Rajanna Sircilla district. All the basic facilities were provided in 490 government schools in the district under the Mana-Ooru and Mana-Badi programme.”

Schemes like Aasara pension, Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bhima and 24 hours of free supply of electricity were not implemented in any state except Telangana. Some 14 villages of neighbouring Maharashtra are urging KCR to help merge their villages in TS. Even some MLA and a minister of Karnataka state also urged KCR to try and have Raichur in Telangana state, the IT minister said.

Instead of criticising, the opposition leaders must do good works and win the hearts of the people, he proposed.