“Not by words but by actions great things are achieved. And the day when every resident of Vasalamarri spreads love and laughter, practises ‘one for all and all for one’ and works for the development of the village, B. Vasalamarri will be achieved. B stands for Bangaru,” Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao told the residents here on Tuesday.
Mr. Rao said, “The whole of Vasalamarri is my family this day onwards,” assuring that all necessary help and aid would be provided by the government to help achieve a self-supporting and ‘role model Vasalamarri’ for themselves.
Vasalamarri located on the Bhongir-Pragnapur road in Turkapally mandal in the district borders with Mr. Rao’s Gajwel Assembly constituency and is even closer to his farm house at Erravelli. And it was thea stroke of luck that Mr. Rao had stopped his convoy on October 31, 2020, and listened to the grievances of Vasalamarri, marked by migration, poor housing and livelihood issues. Soon Mr. Rao announced his adoption plan with an outlay of ₹100 crore.
On Tuesday, Vasalamarri opened up its lands to accommodate hundreds of SUVs and cars, in a never-before event, as Ministers, MLAs, the district administration and the police and security forces nearly competed with the village’s 2, 600-strong population.
The grama sabha was also a mega event with rain-proof canopy, LED screens and sound reinforcement system.
Mr. Rao, who explained examples of Ankapur of Nizamabad, Ramunipatla of Medak, Erravelli of Gajwel, and Bangladesh’s Prof. Hashmi’s reflections on micro credit and women empowerment, believed that Vasalamarri too would join the league if its residents joined hands.
“You have been to Ankapur for an awareness trip. That village’s development committee has its effect on 300 villages. In future, 100 more villages should come to see and learn from Vasalamarri,” he said, instructing village leaders to form committees on sanitation, greenery, sramadanam and agriculture, and set up a special fund.
Likening caste-based occupations to social service providers, such as of barbers and launders, to explain unity, KCR told the villagers that “development will be the only caste”.
Addressing the grama sabha, Mr. Rao said District Collector Pamela Satpathy would be Village Special Officer and instructed her to profile each household in the village. He also announced that Bhuvanagiri municipality would be sanctioned ₹ 1 crore and each of the remaining five municipalities would get ₹ 50 lakh. The 421 gram panchayats in the district would also be sanctioned ₹ 25 lakh for developmental works.
Mr. Rao assured the residents that he would visit the village often and the ‘Dalitawada’ next time.
“But why Vasalamarri?” KCR questioned himself and told the gathering: “I have travelled this route umpteen times since the movement, but never did anything for it. I don’t know, god put a thought in my mind and I stopped my convoy. You are fortunate, our mission will not stop now.”
