YSR Congress central committee member and local legislator Bhumana Karunakar Reddy conducted a massive dharna on Sunday at Muthyala Reddy Palle, a major Panchayat in Tirupati constituency, to highlight its civic problems and to target the government.
It ran similar to the dharna held at Rajiv Gandhi Nagar Panchayat last fortnight, where Mr.Reddy focused on the drinking water problem, roads ridden with potholes, non-issue of house site pattas and the alleged cancellation of social benefits like ration cards and pensions.
Addressing a well-attended gathering, he said that the Panchayat, which had a population of 50,000 residents, had long back been merged with the city but its infrastructure was on a par with that of a backward and under-developed region. “The water scarcity is such that the taps are operated only once in twenty days and the residents are provided just 20 litres, against the per capita requirement of 130 litres,” he noted, reiterating the oft-made charge that Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy went back on his promise made during the by-polls to provide Rs.450 crore for developing Tirupati constituency. Recalling that he had mentioned the issue in the floor of the assembly and also brought it to the notice of the Collector twice, Mr. Reddy regretted that there had been no response thus far. The dharna is to remind the government of its failures and responsibilities.
