Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K. Rosaiah has requested his Maharashtra counterpart Ashok Chavan to enable Leader of the Opposition and Telugu Desam Party president, N. Chandrababu Naidu, and his team of elected representatives to visit the controversial Babli irrigation project across the Godavari.
Mr. Rosaiah told journalists here on Sunday that he telephoned Mr. Chavan on Saturday night and made the request. “I appealed to him to allow them to take a look at the barrage and provide necessary bandobust for the visit.”
Mr. Chavan expressed his inability to allow the TDP delegation of 74 elected representatives to the project site. “Mr. Chavan told me that there was tension in Dharmabad and surrounding area because of the protests against the TDP leaders' visit. That's why the TDP leaders are not being allowed to visit the project,” Mr. Rosaiah said, quoting him.
Mr. Naidu and 74 MPs, MLAs and MLCs were arrested by the Maharashtra police on the Andhra Pradesh-Maharashtra border on Thursday when they tried to proceed towards Babli and other projects allegedly being “illegally” built by Maharashtra. The TDP had been campaigning against these projects, which they say, would block inflows into the Sriramsagar project affecting 18 lakh acres in five districts of the Telangana region.
Subsequently, the Dharmabad Judicial First Class Magistrate remanded them to judicial custody till July 19 after the TDP leaders refused to take bail. They have been detained at the Industrial Training Institute at Dharmabad since Friday night.
