DGP Anurag Sharma, along with senior police officials, visited Tupakulagudem and Devadula villages in Eturunagaram mandal abutting the river Godavari in the district.
The police officials reportedly went around the villages, hitherto unreached for a long time, to inspect the feasibility for setting up a police station. Tupakulagudem is the last village in Eturunagaram, and crossing the river one could reach Chhattisgarh. This route had become very easy for Maoists to cross the borders after committing violence and escape the police combing.
The DGP was accompanied by north zone IG V. Naveen Chand, IG (intelligence) B. Shivadhar Reddy, DIG B. Malla Reddy, and rural SP Ambar Kishor Jha, among others, who also visited Kaleshwaram in Karimnagar district.
A senior police officer speaking to The Hindu said the police were inspecting the site for security arrangements to be made when Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao visits the Devadula project site.
According to him, the Chief Minister might visit Tupakulagudem to lay the foundation for a barrage across river Godavari to ensure adequate water level at Devadula project site so that pumping could be done for a long time.
The hamlets across the river Godavari in Eturunagaram mandal have remained undeveloped. However, due to the recent bridge across the river near Mullakkatta and now with the proposed police station right on the banks, the village may witness movement of a large number of people as well as development of the area.