The policy makers and leaders over the years have paid lip service to decentralisation resulting in the development of Hyderabad at the cost of rest of Andhra Pradesh, speakers at a seminar on Implications of Bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh said.
Presiding over the seminar organised by all the Rotary Clubs in the port city, city lawyer K. Srinivasa Rao said that the lopsided model of development has led to the present crises and urged everyone to fight democratically and peacefully for preserving the unity of the State.
The proposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh to pave the way for the formation of Telangana State is a disastrous move which will affect the employment opportunities of at least two generations, as the people of the residual Andhra Pradesh (now being referred to as Seemandhra) will lose rights over the capital, head of Andhra University Journalism Department D.V.R. Murthy said.
The loss of the capital city, Hyderabad, would be a terrible blow to the Seemandhra people.
"Rome was not built in a day. Nor was Hyderabad. According to my calculations, it will adversely affect two generations (the productive life of each generation being put at 30 years) and there is every possibility that it may lead to rise of militancy in the youth of Seemandhra, as they are deprived of job opportunities," he said.
Citing the report submitted by Sri Krishna Committee, he said the committee had pointed out that Maoist extremism would make inroads once again into interior Telangana, as the region was surrounded by Maoist-affected districts in the neighbouring States such as Chhattisgarh.
"The Congress party also seems to be toying with the idea of joining the four Rayalaseema districts with Telangana to form a State in which the Muslim population will be 21 per cent. The move is intended to checkmate the BJP. The ruling party at the Centre and the State is playing havoc with the State,” he alleged.
CEO of Symbiosys Technologies, O. Naresh Kumar said the software exports from Hyderabad alone amounted to Rs 50,000 crore per annum and the rest of Andhra Pradesh (Visakhapatnam being the sole IT centre) accounted for just Rs. 1,300 crore or so. "It is anybody's guess how long the rest of AP will take to catch up with Hyderabad, if it does at all. There is no supporting infrastructure in the rest of AP. It has been subjected to criminal neglect all these years and all the money has been dumped in Hyderabad. Even money realised through auction of lands in Visakhapatnam city limits has been diverted to Hyderabad in the past few years,” he alleged.
Anakapalle MP Sabbam Hari, was asked by the organisers to speak on the distribution of resources in the event of bifurcation, but he said he would not do so at the juncture, as it would be interpreted to mean that he had already reconciled himself to bifurcation. "I refuse to accept that a point of no return has been reached and there is still a long way to go. We must make our voices heard in New Delhi and stall the disastrous move. I admit that the Congress Party has a lot to answer for in the whole affair, but the other parties are not blemish less and they cannot altogether escape blame. The Telugu Desam Party, for instance, is indulging in all sorts of political somersaults on the issue," he said and added that he would personally fight for a united AP till the end.
In response to a question as to why he was not leading the movement, he said he did not want "to lend a political hue to what is purely a people's upsurge. At a later stage, we will join the movement."
