One of the many objections of the TRS to the construction of the controversial Polavaram project, that the lives of tribals will be affected after the transfer of a few mandals to Andhra Pradesh, is amusing (July 13). The party should stop shedding crocodile tears over tribal welfare and remember that it has gone back on its promise that an SC or ST person would be made the first Chief Minister of Telangana. When the people of Andhra Pradesh have gifted Hyderabad city to Telangana, why can’t Telangana forgo seven mandals to Andhra Pradesh? Issues are bound to crop up post-bifurcation and these can be resolved only by mutual dialogue and a give-and-take approach.
K. Manasa Sanvi,
Srikalahasti
The argument that there are alternatives to the present design of Polavaram that could restrict the area of submergence does not hold any water. After all, there were alternatives to the creation of a separate State of Telangana to redress injustices caused to the people of that region and within the contours of a united Andhra Pradesh. It is clear that the TRS is using Adivasis as a front to justify its opposition to a multipurpose project. The enormity of the benefits that flow from such a mammoth project should sober down any political opposition and its actions should be directed to seeking the best possible compensation for those displaced. That the TRS is leading from the front by enlisting the support of Chhattisgarh and Odisha probably explains its hidden gameplan — to save water for itself for future use.
Codadu Pratap,
Hyderabad
The TRS is acting with a vengeance against Seemandhra. Words cannot change the poisoned minds of leaders. I am reminded of the famous sentence in the novel Madame Bovary wherein the prosecutor’s sentence says “Madame Bovary is not a monstrous creation of the degenerated imagination of Gustav Flaubert.” Such is the antagonism against Andhra Pradesh.
M.M. Kale,
Kakinada
The Polavaram dam is an essential lifeline of Andhra Pradesh. The unfortunate developments over it show that there is a great need to organise open round-tables where the initiative is taken to resolve conflicts without any agitation or violence. The crippling bandhs organised in Telangana show the TRS is bent on confrontation.
V.B. Chandrasekaran,
Chatti, Khammam
