Chief Minister N.Kiran Kumar Reddy had a lively interaction with the fishermen community of Chepaluppada village in Bheemunipatnam on Monday evening. It was an all-women show. He was delighted at self-help group women confidently speaking and putting forth their demands with clarity.
Rupa, a senior Intermediate student while praising the Chief Minister, said that frequent power-cut was disturbing studies of children in her village. She said the lone RTC bus which came to her village was always jam-packed and even girl students were forced to travel hanging on the doorstep. She also said that government colleges were in a bad shape and that her family could not afford private college education.
Chittamma of the same village said that the fishermen families needed houses on the sea coast. Several organisations were taking up construction on the beach violating coastal regulatory zone but only in case of fishermen housing, the officials were citing CRZ laws.
Parvathamma, a fisherwoman, said the community needed a ‘boat yard’ to park their boats and repair fishnets etc of the 10,000 strong fishermen and women community at Gambeeramgedda. She also asked for cold storage facilities and also funds for establishing a fishermen federation. Chief Minister Kiran Reddy while nodding his head to all the demands made by women directed the District Collector and the officials of Department of Fisheries to implement the assurances given by him to the community. He ordered for taking immediate steps for covering all the fishermen under the housing scheme and even for setting up a boat yard. He asked them to take measures for setting up refrigeration and packing units to the benefit of fishermen and also supply ice boxes for storing their fish catch. MLA M. Sreenivas impressed the Chief Minister with his massive show organised at Paradesipalem and Chepaluppada. Earlier the Chief Minister inaugurated a JNURM housing colony of 2,624 houses at Paradesipalem built at a cost of Rs.60 crores. Responding to the demands of the MLA, he said he would sanction funds for a sports complex provided an extent of five acres of land was available. He also gave green signal to setting up a RTC depot and a junior college at Madhurawada besides upgrading two hospitals into a 50-bed and 30-bed hospitals respectively.
Media protest
Mediapersons staged a dharna at the circuit house and at Paradesipalem in protest against preventing their entry They relented only after local MLA Dronamraju Sreenivas apologised on behalf of the Chief Minister.
