TDP medicare policy faulty

Hyderabad, April 16: Reiterating that the TDP government has been neglecting the health sector YSR Congress has said that the State’s lack of foresight has claimed 3,200 lives as it could not buy the required equipment on time.

‘There were 3,200 deaths due to shortage of ventilators and the government has to own up the responsibility as it had lacked foresight and health sector has always been on the neglect by TDP government,’ party spokesperson Venugopal Krishna told reporters here on Saturday.

Of the 3,200 deaths, 552 persons died in Guntur hospital which is close to the capital city and the hospital was in the news earlier for lack of maintenance and mismanagement. The Aarogyasri shceme has been watered down drastically and the state policies are always away from the common man, he said adding the dialysis has been a big problem and the government has no interest in pursuing with the medicare.

The State had lacked foresight and did not buy the needed ventilators in January itself resulting in the deaths and the Government should own up the responsibility, he said.

The Medical and Health portfolio is held by TDP coalition partner and the efficacy of the coordination between the two seems to be very poor.

Chandrababu Naidu has been claiming that the water table is high but people had to travel long distances to fetch a pail of water. The government has been spending huge money on publicity and has been talking tall on inter-linking of rivers but has been taking no steps to fight the severe drought conditions prevailing in the state, he said.

YS Jagan conveys Sri Rama Navami greetings

Hyderabad: Leader of Opposition and the YSRCP President YS Jagan greeted all Telugu people on account of Sri Rama Navami festival. In his message of greetings, he said Lord Rama stood for his word throughout his life and the lives of Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana showed all of us how to lead our lives. He wishes all Telugu people to celebrate Sri rama navami with devotional spirit in all Telugu villages along with Bhadrachalam and Ontimitta. He offered his prayers to Lord Rama and seeked his blessings.

Threat from Chandrababu's Government in different ways

• Vengeance against the farmers who have not given away their lands
• Recent threats in the form of road construction

Amaravathi: The Government is taking its revenge on the farmers of the capital area who have not given away their lands. It is adopting different ways for this. Recent cause of worry for them is the Government's marking for road construction. They are expressing their concern towards the unreasonable vengeance shown by the Government.

Same attitude since the beginning

The intention of Chandrababu's Government is to snatch thousands of acres of land from farmers of 29 villages in the capital area. They put it into action by threatening the farmers with false rumours and by luring them. Still some of the farmers denied to give away their lands to Babu. So the Government resorted to unfair ways to attain its selfish means.

The agricultural appliances in the lands of those farmers were burnt. The 5.5 acre sugarcane crop of a famer Gadde Chandrasekhar was put on fire. 5 acre banana crop was brought down with bulldozers just because it was not given away. People in the areas pretty well know that these acts have been done by goons of TDP. Still no action has been taken against them.

Threats with the name of roads

Stage is being set up for construction of roads in the capital area. Huge number of lands are being collected for this purpose. If there are any lands or houses that have not already been given away, marking for road construction is being done on them. Local people have understood that this is an act of revenge. They held a protest in front of CRDA office on Monday against this.

They pleaded to not cause them distress with the name of roads. They met CRDA commissioner Srikanth and requested for avoiding their lands from pooling and saving them from vengeful acts. Srikanth promised them that he would talk to CM Chandrababu Naidu regarding this.

YS Jagan pays tributes to Ambedkar

Hyderabad, April 14:  Reaffirming that the ideals of the BR Ambedkar are relevant even today YSR Congress President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has said that the Constitution which took shape under the great visionary is being sidestepped by Chandrababu Naidu on various counts.

After paying rich tributes to Ambedkar at the Party central office here on Thursday, the Leader of Opposition said that the ideals of Babasaheb has more relevance now and the downtrodden should be made part of the development process and still the Constitutional provisions enshrined to benefit the marginalized sections are not being carried out in the true letter and spirit.

Chandrababu Naidu has been pursiuing with his use-and-throw policy as he pays tributes to leaders on the designated occasions and conveniently forgets them later.

He has shown his contempt towards dalits with his remark that no one would like to take birth as SC and has been making a mockery of the Constitution which was compiled by Babsaheb as Chairman of the Drafting Committee.

It is the constitutional right that funds should be released in proportion with the population and the amount should be spent for the welfare of dalits and adivasis as per the SC, ST Sub-plan. But Chandrababu Naidu has faulted in allotting and spending the amount which shows how the Constitution is being mocked by him.

The same constitution has said that Tribes Advisory Committee should be formed which would have a say in the development process of the adivasis. Chandrababu Naidu has failed to set up the Committee as YSRCP has won six of the seven ST seats in the state.

Dalits who have taken up Christianity are denied of caste certificate and Chief Minister has been very silent on the issue. Though their social and economic status has not changed in taking the religion, their interests are ignored, he said.

The Chief Minister has made mockery of the democracy by engineering defections and shielding them from disqualification. Taking MLAs from other parties without seeking fresh mandate is another insult to the Constitution and the Ambedkar, who has been the Chairman of the Constitution Committee.

He appealed to the people to follow BR Ambedkar’s words ‘ it is not how many days you have lived, but how you have lived those years.’

Naidu owes apology to SCs

Hyderabad, April 13: YSR Congress has demanded Chandrababu Naidu to apologize to SCs for his remarks against them before going ahead with the BR Ambedkar Jayanthi celebrations.

‘It is shameful on part of Chandrababu Naidu to say that no one would like to be born as SC and he did not even regret for passing a heinous remark. He owes a public apology for such words and with that his participation in Ambadkar Jayathi celebrations would be a mockery,’ party leader Ambati Rambabu told reporters here on Wednesday.

Without even regretting for passing such a remark and going ahead with plans of 125-foot Ambedkar statue could only be self-deception, he said.

Chandrababu also owes an explanation as to why the funds earmarked for SCs and STs were not spent in full or diverted, he said.

In a separate press conference, BC leader R Krishnaiah said that he met YSRCP President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy who has agreed to write a letter to the Centre on the reservations to BCs.

He thanked him for the gesture and hoped that BC reservation would be taken up by other states as well.

YSRCP dharna against TDP failure on drought

Hyderabad, April 13: YSR Congress would launch an agitation against the Government’s failure in tackling the severe drought conditions prevailing in the State and its inefficiency in getting Central funds and the callous attitude towards the employment guarantee scheme.

‘The state is facing severe drought situation and the state has been indifferent in addressing the issues and in seeking central assistance. It has also failed in implementing the national rural employment guarantee scheme and we will agitate at all the collector and mandal offices to highlight the failure of the state government in this regard,’ party senior  leader and MLC Ummareddy Venkateswarlu told reporters here on Wednesday.

The state could secure only paltry amount of RS 443 crores as Central assistance while other states were liberally given the aid ranging from Rs 600 croes to Telangana, in two phases, to Rs 3,050 crore to Maharashtra for mitigating drought which shows that the TDP government is under compulsions and is not in a position to seek the Central assistance to the needed effect.

‘Party President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will also participate in the dharna programme which would be shortly finalized,’ he said adding that the state has been showing neglect towards the unprecedented drought which is sweeping across the 13 districts of the state.

The rabi crop has come down due to lack of water, farmers suicides are on rise at 306, severe scarcity of drinking water scarcity, fodder and livestock which is being sold away to ablators and farmhands constantly migrating are but the clear indicators of severe drought conditions.

Another indication of the severe drought condition is the glaring fact that of the 4 TMC water released from Srisailam dam only 2.5 TMC reached the destination as there was an evaporation loss of 1.5 TMC, he said.

The rural employment funds were misused by increasing the percentage of machinery component and reducing the human component which adds up to misery of the people in face of the drought. Though the Centre has hiked the number of days to be covered under the scheme from 100 days to 150 days the state is providing employment only for 47 days, he said.

We demand that the input subsidy should be hiked and the number of days under the rural employment scheme is hiked to 150 as per the Centre’s directive, he said adding that the agitation against the government’s failure in tackling drought will be taken up across the state.

The indefinite hunger strike by Amarnath demanding Railway zone would be held from April 14 at Vizag, he said

Minister Narayana's indifference

• Drinking water scarcity prevalent in municipalities
• People of cities and suburban areas in suffering

Hyderabad: The problem of scarcity of drinking water is growing by the day throughout the municipalities of AP. The officials themselves have agreed that 90 of the 110 municipalities including corporations, grade 1, grade 2 and grade 3 urban panchayatis are suffering from serious scarcity of water. But the readiness necessary to solve the problem is nowhere to be seen.

Situation in municipalities
At the onset of summer every year, water scarcity begins in the cities and the suburban areas. This is more prevalent in urban areas than in rural areas owing to high population density and low water resources. Also drinking water supply in the urban areas has to happen only through Government systems. People cannot travel to far away areas to get water like in villages. So the municipal department usually forms action plan in advance to face the impending scarcity. Proposals are brought from cities, review of situation is done and action is planned in general.

Minister's negligence
Municipal minister Narayana has been behaving like the minister of capital since a long time, as is the criticism. Primarily formalities with Singapore are being taken care of by Narayana on behalf of Chandrababu. So the functions of his ministry have been pending. Even important issues like review of situation of drinking water scarcity are being left behind. As a result, no consolidated plan has been made to fight the problem.

The people are agonized
People in the urban areas are severely suffering from unavailability of water. Situation in slum areas is worse. The Government has given up on supplying water through tractors. More than 12000 bore wells have dried up. Local officials have stated that they cannot help tge situation unless action has been taken up in the state level.

Thus is the scenario of drinking water in the state and still it is not able to move the unconcerned minister.