Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy conveyed his sense of deep satisfaction upon hearing the success stories of women's self-help groups, who shared their struggles to impart higher education to their children at an interactive session in Kodangal on Wednesday.
The women members turned nostalgic and recollected the timely help of Revanth Reddy during his stint as MLA to save the life of a teenage girl.
Padmamma of Polepalli village revealed to the audience that she rushed to Revanth Reddy when her daughter fell ill. “Naaku chai taagipinchi Gandhi hospital la doctor ku phone chesnru. Bidda batikindi (he made me sit and sip tea when I rushed to him seeking medical help for my ailing daughter. He then called doctors at Gandhi Hospital and ensured medical care, with which she survived,” said Padmamma, whose counts among her sons a doctor and an engineer.
The Chief Minister complimented the parents whose wards grew up to become doctors, engineers, nurses and other postgraduates. He called on the rest of the members to make the best use of the proposed educational facilities in the constituency. “People sitting on the dais have grown big not because of their age but the higher studies they pursued. Families prosper when children study well and financial control stays with women,” he said.
The Chief Minister was fully at ease on his home turf, calling some of the audience by name and enquiring about their spouses or relatives.
“You invite all pedda sarlu to jatara,” he told Padmamma, pointing to Speaker G. Prasad Kumar.
The Chief Minister jovially said Prasad Kumar decides who to give mike and who to cut in the Assembly. He also told his ministerial colleagues that Prabhakar Goud, who donned the famous Kaalikeya character in Bahubali movie, hailed from Kodangal.
Sridevi, an SHG head, explained how she grew financially, starting from a Rs 25,000-venture to reach an annual turnover of Rs 8 lakh, and getting her children to complete their postgraduation.
The Chief Minister announced that he would ensure local women’s groups get contracts for school uniforms, instead of corporates.
A ‘jogini (sex slave)’ went on to highlight how Revanth Reddy’s speech in the Assembly highlighting the plight of joginis resulted in the then government launching several initiatives for them.
On the day, Revanth Reddy laid the foundation stone for a slew of development works costing Rs 4,369.14 crore, including Daulatabad Junior College at Rs 7.13 crore, Bomraspet Junior College (Rs 7.13 cr), Mahatma Jyoti Rao Phule BC Residential School/College at Neetur Village (Rs 25 cr), new veterinary college in Chandrakala village (Rs 36 cr), Government Engineering College at Kosgi mandal headquarters (Rs 30 crore), Women's Degree College at Kosgi mandal headquarters (Rs 11 cr), Girls’ Social Welfare Residential School/Junior College at Maddur (Rs 20 crores), Boys’ Social Welfare Residential School/Junior College at Kodangal (Rs 25 cr), medical college, nursing and physiotherapy college and 220-bed hospital (Rs 224.50 crore).
Other proposed works include Narayanpet-Kodangal Lift Irrigation Scheme at a cost of Rs 2,945 crore, R&B guest house in Kodangal at Rs 6.8 crore, construction of double-lane roads and bridges and the widening of roads across Kodangal constituency at an estimated cost of Rs 344.5 crore and an expenditure of Rs 27.886 crore for laying roads in remote tribal areas in Vikarabad district, which lacks BT roads.
