Will the revival of the sick Sirpur Paper Mills (SPM) at Kagaznagar town in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district, politically benefit the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti in erstwhile united Adilabad district. The manner in which celebrations have taken place and have been planned for August 2 in connection with the unit’s reopening suggests that the TRS is expecting a boost to its political fortunes at least in Mancherial, Bellampally, Asifabad and Sirpur Assembly constituencies in the next election.
“There will only be marginal benefit to the TRS but it will be limited only to Kagaznagar town,” opined a TRS worker who belongs to the rival group of local MLA Koneru Konappa. “People have not forgotten the dubious role the ruling party reportedly played in closure of the factory, which was evident from the fact that the suspension in production came within months of formation of Telangana State and that too with Home Minister Nayini Narasimha Reddy as president of the recognised trade union,” he said explaining why the ruling party may not benefit.
Affected lives
The sick unit is located in Sirpur constituency and is considered to be the lifeline of Kagaznagar town, the heart of the Assembly seat. Not only the families of 3,200 strong work force but allied businesses in the town had their world turned upside down when production was suspended and that had put the TRS in pretty awkward situation politically.
It was Mr. Konappa who had faced the heat both within and outside his party. The ‘outside’ challenge, has come from Palvai Harish Babu, a paediatric orthopaedician and son of former legislator Purushotham Rao, who intends to contest the next election. Reports from the padayatra undertaken by Mr. Harish Rao suggested that a good number of people were inclined to welcome a fresh face in coming election. This was another reason for the MLA to go all out in his efforts to get the factory restarted and reclaim the lost political ground.
The impact of the government’s effort is not likely to carry as far as the other Assembly constituencies in KB Asifabad and Mancherial districts. “This effort is not sufficient to clean the image of Mancherial ruling party leaders who are too involved in dubious land deals or in Bellampally where the TRS is facing massive dissidence as seen in the no confidence motion moved by ruling party councillors against the Municipal chairperson,” commented a Mancherial TRS leader. as he talked of the current political situation.
“There will also be no impact on the ruling party’s prospects in next election at Asifabad either. The aboriginal people have turned against the TRS for its handling, or rather mishandling, of the Adivasi-Lambada conflict and reopening of a factory is not likely to change it,” asserted a TRS leader from Asifabad.
The reopening of SPM, on the other hand, has brought some pressure on the ruling party in Adilabad where the closed unit of Cement Corporation of India continues to evoke passions among the remaining employees. “Why has the government not moved as swiftly in the case of our factory,” questions CCI Employees Union secretary S. Vilas as he reminds of the electoral promise of TRS to revive the cement unit.
