The residents from the villages of Tunglam, Kapu Tunglam and Tunglam SC Colony, staged a dharna at the back gate of HPVP formerly known as BHPV, demanding the opening of the gate, here on Thursday evening.
The Tunglam villages, with about 20,000 population and around 9,000 voters, is in the neighbourhood of the HPVP township.
According to the residents, there is road connecting the NH and the Tunglam village, and it passes through the township. Since last 30 years the residents have been demanding that the gate towards the village be opened for four wheelers and auto-rickshaws, so that they need not circumvent the entire plant area to reach the NH.
“The circumvention increases the distance from our village to the NH by about 3 km and the entry point to the NH has been a hotspot for accidents,” said K. Govind Reddy former TDP Councillor of Tunglam.
According to him, the erstwhile BHPV was established after acquiring about 300 acres from the farmers of Tunglam. And the road passes through the township and not the plant area. “The plant is secured with a boundary wall, and this is creating a lot of problem for us,” he said.
“Be it HZL, VPT or VSP townships, the roads are open to common public. This is the only township that does not allow people to move. This is despite an order by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, instructing the HPVP officials to open the gate and the DRO issuing a clear notice in 2015 for thorough fare,” said Mr. Govind Reddy who is key member in the Tunglam Village Development Committee.
The residents are on warpath and have decided to take forward the agitation. “Today, we have staged the dharna here, we will move it to the District Collector’s office, if our demand is not met,” said Mr. Govind Reddy.
