The unfulfilled dream of people of the coal belt region for a government medical college in the coal hub of Kothagudem continues to figure prominently in the ongoing electioneering for the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) recognised union election slated for October 5.
The long pending demand for infrastructure upgradation of the schools run by the Singareni Collieries Educational Society (SCES) has re-emerged amid the high-voltage election campaign by the trade unions for the keen electoral battle ahead.
Aspiration
The demand for a medical college in Kothagudem grew louder particularly in the after the formation of Bhadradri-Kothagudem district with the coal town as its headquarters in October last year.
All the major trade unions, especially those locked in a keen contest, are trying to impress upon the coal workers promising to make the long-awaited aspiration of the people of the coal belt region for a medical college in Kothagudem a reality.
The need for a medical college in Kothagudem has become imperative more now than ever before, said general secretary CITU-affiliated Singareni Collieries Employees Union (SCEU) Manda Narasimha Rao.
Tribal district
After the reorganisation of the districts last year, the Bhadradri-Kothagudem district came into being as a predominantly tribal populated district encompassing vast coal mining areas.
The newly formed district does not have a medical college, he pointed out, alleging that the ruling TRS-affiliated Telangana Boggu Gani Karmika Sangham (TBGKS) had miserably failed to pursue the matter during its tenure as the SCCL recognised union.
Further, the schools being run by the SCES in the coal belt region are badly in need for infrastructure upgradation, the union leader noted, underlying the need for strengthening the Singareni schools to revive their past glory.
