Vijayawada: Superstitious beliefs are still doing rounds in Vijayawada. Interestingly, politicians and public representatives happened to be the chief promoters of these beliefs.
The historical city, which is known for its rational movements and strong Communist base, is now in a helpless state, as the public representatives have been conveniently avoiding public functions being held at the ITI campus, located near Ramesh hospital, citing a baseless reason.
The Government Industrial Training Institute (ITI), founded in 1960, became a nightmare to the local public representatives, following the series of unpleasant happenings.
In fact, this subject became a debate among the local public representatives and bureaucrats, as the new employment commissionerate will be inaugurated on Saturday in the ITI campus. Though minister for labour K. Achhennayudu, MLA Gadde Rammohan Rao, Mayor Koneru Sreedhar and MP Kesineni Nani are invited for the inauguration of the new employment commissionerate, none of them are going to attend the function, according to a senior most officer of the ITI.
“Our commissioner will inaugurate the new office,” he said and added that the public representatives had bitter experience in the last three decades after visiting this campus.
By citing the example of the then minister Devineni Ramana’s death in a train accident, the officer said that Mr Ramana, had attended Janmabhoomi programme on the campus and the same night, he died in the accident.
Similarly, the then technical education minister M.K. Baig and excise minister Nettem Raghuram lost their ministries, after visiting this ITI, according to him. Once MLA from Vijayawada Vangaveeti Ratnakumari also faded out from politics, after visiting this campus, he said.
Even, this senior officer has recollected his childhood memory that Devineni Gandhi was murdered on the night of his visit to the ITI campus. “Devineni Gandhi was here in the campus on the eve of student union elections and after leaving the campus, he was murdered,” the officer said.
However, the officials are making all arrangements for the proposed inauguration of the new commissionerate of employment, as more than 30 per cent of the staff are on their way to Amaravati from Vijayawada.
The APNGO’s president Ashok Babu, general secretary Chandrasekhar Reddy, West Krishna JAC leader Vidyasagar and AP Government ITI&DLTC’s employees’ union state president K. Sreenivas Kumar are personally monitoring the ongoing works for the new commissionerate.
When asked about the beliefs among public representatives over the ITI campus, Sreenivasa Kumar dismissed them as superstitious and baseless. Meanwhile, Dr Samaram of the Atheist Centre has termed these beliefs as baseless and irrational. “Public representatives shouldn’t believe and encourage such type of illogical sayings,” Dr Samaram observed.
