District reorganisation opens Pandora’s box across erstwhile Karimnagar

Telangana’s district reorganisation plan has triggered fresh demands across Karimnagar. People in Manthani want a separate district named after Sripada Rao, while residents of Rajanna Sircilla fear abolition. The government says reorganisation will follow a scientific method

Karimnagar: The State government’s decision to reorganise the newly formed districts appears to have opened a Pandora’s box in Telangana, with fresh demands emerging from several regions.

While people in some areas are demanding the creation of new districts, residents of recently formed districts are anxious about the possible cancellation of their status.

---

Replying to questions raised by members during the recent Assembly sessions, Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said the State government would reorganise districts, revenue divisions and mandals by following a scientific method. Following the Minister’s statement, hopes have been rekindled among people who have been demanding separate districts, divisions and mandals for a long time.

Carving out Manthani as a separate district is one such long-standing demand. People of the area have been pressing for district status for decades.

In 1992, locals observed a hunger strike demanding that Manthani be made a separate district in the name of PV Narasimha Rao, who was elected as MLA from the constituency four times. They also submitted representations to the then Chief Ministers Kotla Vijayabhaskar Reddy and Nedurumalli Janardhan Reddy.

Similar protests were also held during the creation of new districts in 2016. However, Peddapalli district was carved out then, setting aside the Manthani demand.

Meanwhile, Jayashankar Bhupalpally district was formed by carving out Kataram, Mahadevpur, Mahamutharam, Malhar and Palimela mandals from the Manthani Assembly segment.

Now, people want the old Manthani Assembly constituency, which was the largest segment in united Andhra Pradesh, to be declared a separate district. After Narasimha Rao, former Assembly Speaker Dudilla Sripada Rao represented the segment several times. Locals want the new district to be named after Sripada Rao, father of IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu.

On the other hand, people of Rajanna Sircilla are worried about the possible cancellation of their district. Though the government has not taken any decision so far, rumours about the abolition of the existing district in its present form are doing the rounds on social media.